Feb. 6th, 2013 Solomon Islands Earthquake: Significance?
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Past earthquakes sorted by time and magnitude (Drewicz, 2013)
February 6, 2013 a magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred near the Santa Cruz Islands. The earthquake was a result of shallow thrust faulting on or near the plate boundary interface between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of this earthquake, the Australia plate subducts beneath the Pacific plate, moving towards the east-northeast at a rate of 94 mm/yr. This earthquake created a 2.5-meter tsunami that killed at least 10 people and and left 2,400 people homeless.
The convergent boundary that marks where the Australia plate subducts under the Pacific plate has had previous notable earthquakes. From the 1900s there has been 15 M7.5+ earthquake recorded near New Zealand on this plate boundary. Additionally, this region has produced 5 earthquakes above a M7.0 over the past 5 years. The most notable earthquake recorded in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. Although New Zealand is a considerable distance from the Santa Cruz, Islands, it is along the same subduction zone, relating New Zealand seismicity to this event. Therefore, it is noteworthy to understand the dynamics of these earthquakes along this particularly subduction zone. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180.
The convergent boundary that marks where the Australia plate subducts under the Pacific plate has had previous notable earthquakes. From the 1900s there has been 15 M7.5+ earthquake recorded near New Zealand on this plate boundary. Additionally, this region has produced 5 earthquakes above a M7.0 over the past 5 years. The most notable earthquake recorded in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. Although New Zealand is a considerable distance from the Santa Cruz, Islands, it is along the same subduction zone, relating New Zealand seismicity to this event. Therefore, it is noteworthy to understand the dynamics of these earthquakes along this particularly subduction zone. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180.
About the Area Affected
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Population density of the Solomon Islands (World Trade Press, 2007)
The nearest populated area to this event is Nendo Island (Solomon Islands). The island has a population of around 5,000, most residing in the town of Lata. Several hundred hundred homes (about 400) were destroyed in the February 6th earthquake leaving 2400 people homeless. 10 deaths were reported due to the tsunami that was generated during the Earthquake.
Saltwater and debris from the tsunami contaminated most of Lata's drinking water supply and food crops. SIRC (Solomon Island Red Cross) is using filtrated water from the captial city, Honaira, of the Solomon Islands to temporarily supply the town of Lata with safe drinking water. Approximately 700,000$ is being expended by Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K to aid and reconstruct the area.
Response and Recovery
In an
international response the Government of Australia (GoA) has provided
approximately $308,000 for logistical support and emergency relief
efforts. The GoA has also provided
aerial surveys to assess the amount of damage the earthquake and subsequent tsunami
caused to the earthquake-affected Solomon Islands. The Government of New Zealand has pledge
approximately $167,000 for emergency relief supplies. The U.K. Department for International
Development has reported to contribute approximately $235,000 for relief
efforts in the Solomon Islands.
On February 13th, U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu Walter North issued a disaster declaration due to the effects of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Solomon Islands. With this declaration, the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby requested $50,000 from USAID/OFDA to support SIRC’s ongoing relief support (clean water supply, sanitation and hygiene needs) to affected populations in the Solomon Islands.
The USAID/OFDA programs are currently working to fortify community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts and national disaster response capacity in the Solomon Islands. The reduction of vulnerability is one of the key concerns of the USAID/OFDA. To help reduce the vulnerability the USAID/OFDA is supporting activities such as evacuation exercises, first aid trainings, the establishment of more reliable disaster early warning systems, incident command system, disaster response management, damage assessments, and emergency operation centers for the country’s disaster authorities. The USAID/OFDA has funded more than $3 million for regional and country-specific DDR activities that impact the Solomon Islands.
On February 13th, U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu Walter North issued a disaster declaration due to the effects of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Solomon Islands. With this declaration, the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby requested $50,000 from USAID/OFDA to support SIRC’s ongoing relief support (clean water supply, sanitation and hygiene needs) to affected populations in the Solomon Islands.
The USAID/OFDA programs are currently working to fortify community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts and national disaster response capacity in the Solomon Islands. The reduction of vulnerability is one of the key concerns of the USAID/OFDA. To help reduce the vulnerability the USAID/OFDA is supporting activities such as evacuation exercises, first aid trainings, the establishment of more reliable disaster early warning systems, incident command system, disaster response management, damage assessments, and emergency operation centers for the country’s disaster authorities. The USAID/OFDA has funded more than $3 million for regional and country-specific DDR activities that impact the Solomon Islands.
The February 6th Earthquake: Foreshocks, the Mainshock, and Aftershocks
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This figure displays the previous earthquakes from January 31st, 2013 until the February 6th, 2013 M8.0 earthquake . Before the earthquake, there where six significant magnitude earthquakes ranging from a magnitude of 5.7 to 6.3, and many low magnitude shocks that occurred near the region of the M8.0 earthquake . Each significant earthquake was given a focal mechanism (resembles a beach ball). A focal mechanism refers to the direction of slip in an earthquake and the orientation of the fault (strike and dip) on which it occurs.