M5.0 earthquake near Tandai, Guadalcanal Province

What happened

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck 45 km ESE of Malango, Solomon Islands on 16 Jan 2021, 01:44 UTC at a depth of 10 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 Tandai, about 52 km away in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands.