M5.3 earthquake near Malango, Guadalcanal Province

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 95 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands on 27 Dec 2018, 05:39 UTC at a depth of 69 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Malango, about 139 km away in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands.