M7.2 earthquake 155 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 155 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands on Tue, Oct 15, 1991, 2:58 AM GMT+11 (15:58 UTC), 23 km (15 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (Mw, moment), major
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1991-10-14 15:58:12 UTC
- Depth
- 23.4 km (14.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 9.094° S, 158.442° E
- Region
- Solomon Islands
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.2 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 7.2 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 7.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 6.8 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
| 7.1 | Mww, W-phase moment | Duputel, W-phase inversion | Preliminary |
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 6481), matched to this event by time and place.
NOAA’s record of this earthquake gives no deaths, injuries or damage.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt strongly throughout the Solomon Islands. Two events about 10 seconds apart observed on broadband displacement seismograms. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=172 Dip=76 Slip=90 NP2:Strike=352 Dip=14 Slip=90 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=59 Azm=82 (P) Plg=31 Azm=262 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to reverse faulting. The preferred fault plane is NP2. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 16 Focal mech. C Energy 4.0+0.4*10**14 Nm MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION Dep 26 No. of sta: 19 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**19 Nm Mrr=1.02 Mtt=-1.98 Mff=0.95 Mrt=1.64 Mrf=-5.09 Mtf=3.09 Principal axes: (T) Val=6.22 Plg=42 Azm=101 (N) Val=0.35 Plg=31 Azm=338 (P) Val=-6.58 Plg=32 Azm=225 Best Double Couple:Mo=6.4*10**19 NP1:Strike=260 Dip=32 Slip=11 NP2:Strike=161 Dip=84 Slip=121 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 27S, 80C M.W.: 22S, 50C Centroid Location: Origin Time 15:58:25.2 0.1 Lat 9.17S 0.01 Lon 158.36E 0.01 Dep 30.3 0.5 Half-duration 18.2 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**19 Nm Mrr=4.91 0.05 Mtt=-1.38 0.04 Mff=-3.52 0.04 Mrt=0.88 0.15 Mrf=-5.29 0.17 Mtf=3.73 0.03 Principal Axes: (T) Val=7.54 Plg=62 Azm=103 (N) Val=0.61 Plg=18 Azm=336 (P) Val=-8.15 Plg=21 Azm=239 Best Double Couple:Mo=7.8*10**19 NP1:Strike=300 Dip=29 Slip=51 NP2:Strike=163 Dip=68 Slip=109
From the USGS event page for usp0004xtq. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 19.6% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.0 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 7.1 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 161°, dip 71°, rake 111°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 290°, dip 28°, rake 41°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 4.2 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.4140 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12771 days ago · 31 km deep · 17 km away
- 6.1166 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12771 days ago · 19 km deep · 12 km away
- 4.9173 km WSW of Buala, Solomon Islands · 12771 days ago · 22 km deep · 29 km away
- 4.4131 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12771 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
- 5.0121 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12771 days ago · 26 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.8161 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12771 days ago · 25 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.9111 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12771 days ago · 34 km deep · 44 km away
- 5.0180 km WSW of Buala, Solomon Islands · 12770 days ago · 16 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.3150 km ESE of Gizo, Solomon Islands · 12770 days ago · 33 km deep · 57 km away
- 5.3158 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12770 days ago · 26 km deep · 7 km away
- 4.3150 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12770 days ago · 33 km deep · 5 km away
- 4.5149 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12770 days ago · 33 km deep · 9 km away
- 5.6169 km SW of Buala, Solomon Islands · 12742 days ago · 29 km deep · 16 km away
- 5.2111 km SW of Buala, Solomon Islands · 12741 days ago · 33 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.6126 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands · 12740 days ago · 21 km deep · 29 km away
Before
Earthquakes todaySolomon Islands earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0004xtq (also filed as choy19911014155812, gcmtb101491c, gcmt19911014155814, duputel101491c, atlas19911014155816, iscgem316514). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 2:55 PM UTC.