August 9, 1901 Earthquake: Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

Name: August 9, 1901 Earthquake: Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
Start: 1901-08-09
Location: Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

August 9, 1901 · M7.9 · Deaths: few

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia on August 9, 1901 at 13:01:00 UTC. It caused a tsunami.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date: August 9, 1901
Time: 13:01:00 UTC
Place: Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
Magnitude: 7.9 (Mw)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Volcano: The eruption it came with
Epicenter: 22.000° S, 170.000° E
Country: New Caledonia

The toll

Deaths: Few (about 1 to 50) with its tsunami and other effects
Damage: Limited (under about $1 million); Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with its tsunami and other effects

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Reference #88 lists epicenter Aug 9, 1901, 1301 UTC, 22S, 170E, magnitude 8.4.

Reference #1002 lists epicenter Aug 9, 1901, S. New Hebrides, magnitude 8.4.

Reference #9910 lists 1901-08:09:13:01:00 UTC, 22S 170E, 7.9 Mw, 7.9 Ms

Reference #10476 lists 1901-08:09:13:01:00 UTC, 22S 170E, 7.92 Mw

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1901 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1901 Recent earthquakes near here This day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 2595.