M5.1 Earthquake near Solomon Islands — February 20, 2023
2023-02-20 17:53:32 UTC (2023-02-20) · approx. 4:53 AM UTC+11 local
Felt by 4 people across nearby locations.
On February 20, 2023 at 17:53 UTC, a magnitude 5.1 shallow crustal earthquake struck near Solomon Islands, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -9.8056°, 160.2453°. This earthquake was detected by 60 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 401, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 674 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.0 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 4 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
160.2453°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.1 earthquake near Solomon Islands?
The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck near Solomon Islands on February 20, 2023 at 17:53 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -9.8056°, 160.2453°, which is near Solomon Islands.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.1 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000jqdb). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, February 20, 2023). M5.1 Earthquake near Solomon Islands — February 20, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000jqdb/