M5.3 earthquake near Malango, Guadalcanal Province

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 105 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands on 20 Dec 2016, 08:49 UTC at a depth of 19 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 133 km away in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands.