Swarm of strong earthquakes hit Santa Cruz Islands

swarm-of-strong-earthquakes-hit-santa-cruz-islands

Swarm of strong and shallow earthquakes struck Santa Cruz Islands region, starting with January 30, 2013. Strong M 6.0 (USGS) hit island region on January 30, 2013 at 23:03 UTC.

The strongest earthquake was measured as M 6.2 on January 31, 2013 at 03:33  UTC, (four hours after M 6.0) with epicenter located 60 km (37 miles) E of Lata, Solomon Islands at depth of 9.2 km (5.7 miles). There was no tsunami alert issued.

 

Magnitude 6.2
Date-Time
  • Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 03:33:43 UTC
  • Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 02:33:43 PM at epicenter
Location 10.628°S, 166.382°E
Depth 9.2 km (5.7 miles)
Region SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
Distances 60 km (37 miles) E of Lata, Solomon Islands
544 km (338 miles) N of Luganville, Vanuatu
717 km (445 miles) ESE of Honiara, Solomon Islands
809 km (502 miles) NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 14.7 km (9.1 miles); depth +/- 3.2 km (2.0 miles)
Parameters NST=414, Nph=420, Dmin=718 km, Rmss=0.82 sec, Gp= 25°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=9
Source
  • Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
    Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc000ez0w

 

By the time of this report (January 31, 2013 – 08:40 UTC), Santa Cruz Islands experienced nine strong earthquakes ranging between M 4.6 and M 5.6. The Santa Cruz Islands are less than five million years old, and were pushed upward by the tectonic subduction of the northward-moving Indo-Australian Plate under the Pacific Plate. The islands are mostly composed of limestone and volcanic ash over limestone.

 

World earthquakes list

Update time = Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 9:37 UTC
Source: USGS

 

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
 4.3 2013/01/31 08:27:29   -7.271   144.084 33.3  NEAR SOUTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA, P.N.G.
 2.9 2013/01/31 08:06:34   33.392  -116.847 6.7  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
 4.9   2013/01/31 06:50:17  -10.418   166.251 35.0  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
 5.1   2013/01/31 06:42:11  -10.713   166.386 35.2  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
 5.4   2013/01/31 05:18:15  -10.567   166.446 45.7  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
 5.0   2013/01/31 05:16:58  -10.502   166.201 25.0  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
 4.6   2013/01/31 05:10:53  -28.053   -70.927 46.1  ATACAMA, CHILE
 2.6 2013/01/31 04:35:05   60.183  -151.274 60.7  KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
 5.6   2013/01/31 04:31:33  -10.934   165.418 32.9  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
 4.5   2013/01/31 04:15:56  -27.878   -70.941 26.8  ATACAMA, CHILE
 5.0   2013/01/31 04:10:46   -4.613   102.515 51.7  SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
2.6 2013/01/31 04:01:13   46.285  -122.208 5.0  MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
 5.6   2013/01/31 03:58:00  -10.680   166.391 35.1  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
 6.2   2013/01/31 03:33:44  -10.628   166.382 9.2  SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
 4.8   2013/01/31 02:45:00  -28.504   -67.365 117.7  LA RIOJA, ARGENTINA
 4.3 2013/01/31 02:26:21   49.877   150.751 355.5  NORTHWEST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
 2.7 2013/01/31 01:48:18   60.371  -152.835 119.7  SOUTHERN ALASKA
 2.9 2013/01/31 01:12:08   18.890   -64.453 38.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
 3.7 2013/01/31 01:03:17   45.919  -122.409 7.6  WASHINGTON

 

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