February 9, 1991 Earthquake: Solomon Islands
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Solomon Islands on February 9, 1991 at 16:18:58 UTC, 10 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 9, 1991
- Time
- 16:18:58 UTC
- Place
- Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 6.9 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 9.929° S, 159.139° 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Minor damage at Honiara. Felt strongly on Guadalcanal. Felt in the Florida Islands, on Maloita and in western San Cristobal. A small tsunami was generated with maximum wave height 4 cm (peak-to-trough) at Honiara. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 20, 1977, Solomon Islands
- April 21, 1977, Solomon Islands
- April 30, 1939, Solomon Islands
- August 10, 1988, San Cristobal, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- January 25, 1926, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- November 8, 1950, Solomon Sea, Solomon Islands
- September 16, 1926, Solomon Islands
- November 22, 2022, Honiara, Solomon Islands
- July 25, 2012, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- September 27, 1985, Honiara, Guadacanal, Solomon Islands
- July 10, 2015, Solomon Islands
- October 14, 1991, Solomon Islands
- April 20, 1977, Solomon Islands
- November 18, 2015, Solomon Islands
- February 7, 1984, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
More
Significant earthquakes of 1991The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1991Recent 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 6478.