September 27, 1985 Earthquake: Honiara, Guadacanal, Solomon Islands
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Honiara, Guadacanal, Solomon Islands on September 27, 1985 at 03:39:08 UTC, 32 km below the surface.
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
- September 27, 1985
- Time
- 03:39:08 UTC
- Place
- Honiara, Guadacanal, Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 6.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 32 km (20 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 9.829° S, 159.854° E
- Country
- Solomon Islands
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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 3, 1931, San Cristobal Island, Solomon Islands
- April 20, 1977, Solomon Islands
- April 21, 1977, Solomon Islands
- April 30, 1939, Solomon Islands
- August 10, 1988, San Cristobal, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- December 8, 2016, Solomon Islands
- July 25, 2012, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- November 22, 2022, Honiara, Solomon Islands
- September 16, 1926, Solomon Islands
- November 8, 1950, Solomon Sea, Solomon Islands
- April 20, 1977, Solomon Islands
- February 7, 1984, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- January 25, 1926, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- February 9, 1991, Solomon Islands
- August 1, 1961, Solomon Islands
More
Significant earthquakes of 1985The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1985Recent 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 5079.