August 17, 1959 Earthquake: Solomon Islands
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Solomon Islands on August 17, 1959 at 21:04:40 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 17, 1959
- Time
- 21:04:40 UTC
- Place
- Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.3 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 7.500° S, 156.000° E
- Country
- Solomon Islands
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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.
August 17, 1959, 22:04:40 UTC, 7.5 S, 156 E, Solomon Islands. Considerable damage in the New Georgia group. (reference #45)
August 17, 1959, 21:24:40 UTC, 7.5 S, 156 E, shallow depth, magnitude 7.25 MS. (reference #88)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 1, 2007, Solomon Islands
- January 30, 1939, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- January 22, 2017, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- April 11, 2014, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
- April 29, 1996, Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands
- January 31, 1974, Solomon Islands
- February 1, 1974, Solomon Islands
- September 8, 1955, Fauro Island, Solomon Islands
- July 20, 1975, Buin, Boku, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
- April 19, 2014, Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
- July 20, 1975, Bougainville, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- October 12, 1987, Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea
More
Significant earthquakes of 1959The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1959Recent earthquakes near hereThis 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 4198.