M4.9 Earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands — December 16, 2024
2024-12-16 18:12:14 UTC (2024-12-16) · approx. 5:12 AM UTC+11 local
Felt by 1 person across nearby locations.
On December 16, 2024 at 18:12 UTC, a magnitude 4.9 shallow crustal earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands, at a depth of 39.1 km and coordinates -21.5212°, 171.3756°. This earthquake was detected by 27 seismic stations with good location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 370, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.9 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 338 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 1.4 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 1 citizen response 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
171.3756°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 4.9 earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands?
The magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands on December 16, 2024 at 18:12 UTC had a depth of 39.1 km. For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -21.5212°, 171.3756°, which is southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.9 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000nzaq). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, December 16, 2024). M4.9 Earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands — December 16, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000nzaq/