October 14, 1991 Earthquake: Solomon Islands
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Solomon Islands on October 14, 1991 at 15:58:12 UTC, 23 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
- October 14, 1991
- Time
- 15:58:12 UTC
- Place
- Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 7.2 · Ms 7.1 · mb 6.3
- Focal depth
- 23 km (14 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 9.094° S, 158.442° E
- Country
- Solomon Islands
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt strongly throughout the Solomon Islands. Two events about 10 seconds apart observed on broadband displacement seismograms. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=172 Dip=76 Slip=90 NP2:Strike=352 Dip=14 Slip=90 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=59 Azm=82 (P) Plg=31 Azm=262 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to reverse faulting. The preferred fault plane is NP2. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 16 Focal mech. C Energy 4.0+0.4*10**14 Nm MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION Dep 26 No. of sta: 19 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**19 Nm Mrr=1.02 Mtt=-1.98 Mff=0.95 Mrt=1.64 Mrf=-5.09 Mtf=3.09 Principal axes: (T) Val=6.22 Plg=42 Azm=101 (N) Val=0.35 Plg=31 Azm=338 (P) Val=-6.58 Plg=32 Azm=225 Best Double Couple:Mo=6.4*10**19 NP1:Strike=260 Dip=32 Slip=11 NP2:Strike=161 Dip=84 Slip=121 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 27S, 80C M.W.: 22S, 50C Centroid Location: Origin Time 15:58:25.2 0.1 Lat 9.17S 0.01 Lon 158.36E 0.01 Dep 30.3 0.5 Half-duration 18.2 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**19 Nm Mrr=4.91 0.05 Mtt=-1.38 0.04 Mff=-3.52 0.04 Mrt=0.88 0.15 Mrf=-5.29 0.17 Mtf=3.73 0.03 Principal Axes: (T) Val=7.54 Plg=62 Azm=103 (N) Val=0.61 Plg=18 Azm=336 (P) Val=-8.15 Plg=21 Azm=239 Best Double Couple:Mo=7.8*10**19 NP1:Strike=300 Dip=29 Slip=51 NP2:Strike=163 Dip=68 Slip=109
From the USGS event page for usp0004xtq. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.2 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 7.2 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 7.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 6.8 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
| 7.1 | Mww, W-phase moment | Duputel, W-phase inversion | Preliminary |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1991, Oct 14. Two events about 10 seconds apart. Felt
strongly throughout the Solomon Islands. (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
- April 30, 1939, Solomon Islands
- November 18, 2015, Solomon Islands
- July 10, 2015, Solomon Islands
- January 5, 2010, Solomon Islands
- January 3, 2010, Solomon Islands
- February 9, 1991, Solomon Islands
- January 3, 2010, Solomon Islands
- September 16, 1926, Solomon Islands
- January 25, 1926, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- January 5, 1969, Santa Isabel Island, Solomon Islands
- November 22, 2022, Honiara, Solomon Islands
- November 8, 1950, Solomon Sea, Solomon Islands
- July 25, 2012, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- September 27, 1985, Honiara, Guadacanal, 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6481. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp0004xtq, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.