February 1, 1974 Earthquake: Solomon Islands
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Solomon Islands on February 1, 1974 at 03:12:33 UTC, 40 km below the surface. 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
- February 1, 1974
- Time
- 03:12:33 UTC
- Place
- Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 7.1 · mb 6.2
- Focal depth
- 40 km (25 mi)
- Intensity
- VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 7.400° S, 155.600° E
- Country
- Solomon Islands
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Damage
- 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.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 7.4 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.3 |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Felt widely. Maximum intensity (VI) on Bougainville. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
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
- August 17, 1959, 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 1974The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1974Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6598. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp000053r, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.