July 8, 1980 Earthquake: Banks, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Banks, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands on July 8, 1980 at 23:19:19 UTC, 33 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
- July 8, 1980
- Time
- 23:19:19 UTC
- Place
- Banks, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 12.410° S, 166.381° E
- Country
- Solomon Islands
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 7, 2009, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- December 31, 1966, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- December 17, 1957, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- April 21, 1997, Santa Cruz Islands, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands
- July 17, 1980, Santa Cruz Islands, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands
- August 5, 1982, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- December 31, 1966, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- July 18, 1934, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- October 7, 2009, Vanuatu Islands
- November 4, 1953, Solomon Islands
- September 2, 2007, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- May 27, 2010, Vanuatu Islands
- February 8, 2013, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- July 21, 1934, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia
- December 21, 1985, Vanuatu Islands
More
Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent 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 4881.