August 10, 1988 Earthquake: San Cristobal, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck San Cristobal, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands on August 10, 1988 at 04:38:29 UTC, 36 km below the surface. It killed 1 person, counting the tsunami it caused.
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 10, 1988
- Time
- 04:38:29 UTC
- Place
- San Cristobal, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 36 km (22 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 10.258° S, 160.896° E
- Country
- Solomon Islands
The toll
- Deaths
- 1 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- 100 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.
On August 10, 1988, a magnitude 7.4 Ms (USGS) earthquake at 04:38 UT in the Solomon Islands generated a tsunami which killed one person and washed away 100 homes in 13 villages along the southwest coast of San Cristobal Island. (reference #1315)
1988, Aug 10 04:38:29.17. -10.250, 160.896, 36.1 km depth, 7.6 Mw HRV, 7.2 Mw GS, 7.6 Mw P&S, 7.4 Ms P&S, 7.3 Ms ISC, 7.1 Ms PAS, 7.4 Ms BRK, 6 mb ISC, 6.8 ME GS. (reference #9910)
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
- December 8, 2016, Solomon Islands
- June 15, 1966, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- January 20, 2003, Honiara, San Cristobal, Solomon Islands
- April 12, 1926, Solomon Islands
- October 10, 1931, Solomon Islands
- April 20, 1977, Solomon Islands
- December 15, 1935, Solomon Islands
- February 7, 1984, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- August 1, 1961, Solomon Islands
- December 9, 2016, Solomon Islands
- April 20, 1977, Solomon Islands
- September 27, 1985, Honiara, Guadacanal, Solomon Islands
More
Significant earthquakes of 1988The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1988Recent 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 5165.