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M5.6 Earthquake near SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION

UTC time: 2026-05-12 15:39:30 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis. How our reports are produced ↗

Magnitude
M5.6
Depth
63.7 km
Source
EMSC

SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION

Map

M5.6 Earthquake near SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION · 2026-05-12 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.6 Earthquake near SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION · 2026-05-12 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On May 12, 2026 at 15:39 UTC, a magnitude M5.6 earthquake occurred near SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 64 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The event was recorded by EMSC.

Details

ID
73a857736545a3643a7dd1159684ef41afa4a561
Magnitude
M5.6
Depth
63.7 km
UTC time
2026-05-12 15:39:30 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
emsc
Coordinates
-10.62790, 164.92050
Temperature
28.8°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 63.7 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 63.7 km
Shallow
63.7 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Malango549.5 kmW15'560

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Tinakula
    Distance: 100 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 796 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Solomon Islands
  • Suretamatai
    Distance: 449 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 921 m ·Last eruption: 1966 ·Vanuatu
  • Motlav
    Distance: 451 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 411 m ·Vanuatu
  • Gaua
    Distance: 494 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 729 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Vanuatu

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Santa Cruz/Graciosa Bay/Luova AirportSolomon Islands · SCZ · AGGL
    96.1 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-06

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

No unambiguous area assignment

Context for this earthquake

This event has no unambiguous country assignment in the analysed catalogue. It is therefore not assigned to a regional profile.

Earthquake overview

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#2
Earlier events M≥434
Earlier events M≥514
Compared since2025-01-15

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M5.72025-01-15 21:37:01 UTC120.4 km26 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands M5.52025-01-20 08:38:42 UTC125.9 km62 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands M5.32025-08-30 20:09:24 UTC146.5 kmSanta Cruz Islands M5.32025-07-24 06:34:54 UTC138.4 kmSANTA CRUZ ISLANDS M5.22025-09-12 17:29:47 UTC5.9 kmEvent of magnitude 5.2, near of Nouméa (Monde)

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
506
Country (24h)
—
—
Current earthquakes in
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No recent events available.

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