January 3, 2010 Earthquake: Solomon Islands
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Solomon Islands on January 3, 2010 at 22:36:27 UTC, 25 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
- January 3, 2010
- Time
- 22:36:27 UTC
- Place
- Solomon Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 25 km (16 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 8.799° S, 157.346° E
- Country
- Solomon Islands
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 16
- Houses damaged
- 60
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.
Sixteen homes destroyed, at least 60 damaged and 1,000
people left homeless on Rendova. Some of the damage
was caused by a tsunami, with a runup height of 2-3 m
on Rendova. Felt (VI) at Gizo. The tsunami was
recorded at the following tide stations with these
wave heights (peak-to-trough): 2 cm at Cape Ferguson
and 15 cm at Rosslyn Bay, Australia; 13 cm at Honiara,
Solomon Islands; 1 cm at Luganville, Vanuatu. (reference #1053)
At least one village in the Solomon Islands has been destroyed by a series of powerful earthquakes that struck the archipelago yesterday, churning up a tsunami that reached a height of 10ft (3m). As rescue workers reached the remote islands at the epicentre of the earthquakes, they reported that most of the inhabitants had escaped serious injury although dozens of houses were flattened by the tremors and aftershocks, the strongest of which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale. (reference #7037)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 2010The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2010Recent 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 8673.