M5.0 earthquake Solomon Islands
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in the Solomon Islands on Fri, Dec 20, 1985, 11:16 PM GMT+11 (12:16 UTC), 89 km (55 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.3 104 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-12-20 12:16:10 UTC
- Depth
- 89.1 km (55.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 10.397° S, 161.228° E
- Region
- Solomon Islands
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.073 km W of Kirakira, Solomon Islands · 14855 days ago · 108 km deep · 5 km away
- 6.3104 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands · 14853 days ago · 95 km deep · 33 km away
- 6.0Solomon Islands · 14848 days ago · 82 km deep · 10 km away
- 4.4132 km W of Kirakira, Solomon Islands · 14843 days ago · 33 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.4139 km SE of Malango, Solomon Islands · 14841 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.682 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands · 14839 days ago · 101 km deep · 35 km away
- 4.496 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands · 14837 days ago · 69 km deep · 27 km away
Before
Earthquakes todaySolomon Islands earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002p48. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:20 AM UTC.