M7.3 earthquake near Malango, Guadalcanal Province

What happened

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 126 km W of Kirakira, Solomon Islands on 20 Jan 2003, 08:43 UTC at a depth of 33 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Major. Can cause serious damage over large areas. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Malango, about 142 km away in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands.