M7.8 earthquake near Tandai, Guadalcanal Province

What happened

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 23 km SSE of Malango, Solomon Islands on 30 Apr 1939, 02:55 UTC at a depth of 15 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 Tandai, about 50 km away in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands.