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Date & time: Monday, 17 August 1959 21:04 UTC
Magnitude: 7.0
Depth: 25.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 7.776°S / 156.328°E (Solomon Islands)
Nearest volcano: Nonda (32 km / 20 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
67 km (42 mi) NW of Gizo (pop: 6,200)
119 km (74 mi) S of Taro (pop: 0)
191 km (119 mi) SE of Arawa (pop: 40,300)
Primary data source: USGS
Estimated released energy: 2 x 10¹⁵ joules (554 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 4.8 x 10⁵ tons of TNT or 29.8 atomic bombs!) [learn more]

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Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake ruptured along a surface of approx. 1000 km² (=386 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 55 km (34 mi).
Aftershocks typically occur during the weeks, months or even a year following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone.
The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock (check on the map below to verify).

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