Many major earthquakes have occurred in the region of the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia. Events in 1737, 1923 and 1952, were megathrust earthquakes and caused tsunamis. There are many more earthquakes and tsunamis originating from the region.
The September 2007 Sumatra earthquakes were a series of megathrust earthquakes that struck the Sunda Trench off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, with three of magnitude 7 or greater. A series of tsunami bulletins was issued for the area. The most powerful of the series had a magnitude of 8.4, which makes it in the top 20 of the largest earthquakes ever recorded on a seismograph.
The 2000 New Ireland earthquakes occurred off the coast of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea on November 16 and 17.
The 2009 Dusky Sound earthquake was a 7.8 earthquake that struck a remote region of Fiordland, New Zealand, on 15 July at 21:22 local time. It had an initially–reported depth of 12 km (7.5 mi), and an epicentre near Dusky Sound in Fiordland National Park, which is 160 km (99 mi) north-west of Invercargill. It was the country's largest earthquake magnitude since the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, but caused only minor damage and there were no casualties. A tsunami accompanied the event and had a maximum measured run-up of 230 cm (91 in).
The June 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake that occurred on 13 June 2011 at 14:20 NZST. It was centred at a depth of 7 km (4.3 mi), about 5 km (3 mi) south-east of Christchurch, which had previously been devastated by a magnitude 6.2 MW earthquake in February 2011. The June quake was preceded by a magnitude 5.9 ML tremor that struck the region at a slightly deeper 8.9 km (5.5 mi). The United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude of 6.0 Mw and a depth of 9 km (5.6 mi).
The 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes were magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 Mw undersea earthquakes that struck near the Indonesian province of Aceh on 11 April at 15:38 local time. Initially, authorities feared that the initial earthquake would cause a tsunami and warnings were issued across the Indian Ocean; however, these warnings were subsequently cancelled. These were unusually strong intraplate earthquakes and the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded.
The 2012 Haida Gwaii earthquake occurred just after . The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of V (Moderate). The earthquake's epicentre was on Moresby Island of the Haida Gwaii archipelago. This was the second largest Canadian earthquake ever recorded by a seismometer, after the 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake, about 135 kilometres (84 mi) away. One person died due to a car crash related to the tsunami in Oahu, Hawaii.
The 2013 Solomon Islands earthquake struck Temotu Province within Solomon Islands on 6 February with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The epicentre was close to the Santa Cruz Islands within Temotu Province at the boundaries of the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, causing local evacuations, a tsunami of 11 m (36 ft) and killing at least ten people.
The 2013 Balochistan earthquakes took place in late September in southwestern Pakistan. The mainshock had a moment magnitude of 7.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 825 people were killed and hundreds more were injured. On 28 September, a M6.8 aftershock occurred to the north at a depth of 14.8 kilometres, killing at least 22 people.
The 2014 Iquique earthquake struck off the coast of Chile on 1 April, with a moment magnitude of 8.2, at 20:46 local time. The epicenter of the earthquake was approximately 95 kilometres (59 mi) northwest of Iquique. The mainshock was preceded by a number of moderate to large shocks and was followed by a large number of moderate to very large aftershocks, including a M7.7 event on 3 April. The megathrust earthquake triggered a tsunami of up to 2.11 metres (6.9 ft) that hit Iquique at 21:05 local time. Similar-sized tsunamis were also reported to have hit the coasts of Pisagua and Arica.
The 2003 Fiordland earthquake struck the remote region of Fiordland in the South Island of New Zealand on 22 August 2003, at 12:12 am NZST. The epicentre was 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) deep, and was thought to be near Secretary Island at the entrance to Doubtful Sound. At 7.2 Ms magnitude, it was one of the largest quakes in the country for some time, and was the largest shallow quake since the 1968 Inangahua earthquake. There was an aftershock two hours later at 2:12 am, followed over several days by frequent small tremors; two months after the earthquake, there had been 8,000 aftershocks.
On 9 December 2016 at 4:38 a.m. local time, the Solomon Islands region was rocked by an Mww 7.8 earthquake, centred 30 km off San Cristobal Island, about 61 km southwest of Kirakira, the capital of Makira-Ulawa Province. Initially registering magnitude 8.0, later downgraded to 7.8, the temblor prompted tsunami warnings that kept countries surrounding the Coral, Tasman and Solomon Sea on high alert, but was later cancelled. A large aftershock of magnitude 6.9 occurred shortly afterwards. This earthquake was largely felt, waking many residents who later ran to high ground for fears of a potential tsunami. The earthquake killed a child and affected some 34,000 people in Makira, South Malaita and Guadalcanal Island where many had lost their homes or had no access to basic needs. Earthquakes are common in this region, with little or no fatalities. This earthquake is tied with three other magnitude 7.8 earthquakes for the second largest earthquake of 2016. On 17 December, Solomon Islands would be rattled again by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, this time 54 km east of Taron, Papua New Guinea.
The 2018 Fiji earthquakes occurred on August 19, at 00:19:40 UTC and on September 6 15:49 UTC. The epicenters were located close to the Fijian island Lakeba, and around 270 km from the small town of Levuka on Ovalau. The first earthquake registered a magnitude of Mww 8.2, and is the largest earthquake of 2018. It had a focal depth of 600 km, making it the second largest earthquake ever recorded at a depth greater than 300 km; a tie with the 1994 Bolivia earthquake, and behind the 2013 Okhotsk Sea earthquake. The initial earthquake was caused by a normal fault below the South Pacific Ocean. A Mww 7.9 event struck the islands again on September 6 at a depth of 670 km; this earthquake was a mainshock of its own. Both earthquakes may be considered a doublet event.
On July 17, 2017, an earthquake struck near the Komandorski Islands, east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea at. Although there were no casualties from this earthquake, it was notable for a rare characteristic known as supershear, and is one of the few times a large supershear earthquake has been observed. It was preceded by a few foreshocks months earlier, and aftershocks that continued for nearly six months.
The 2021 Kermadec Islands earthquakes were a series of earthquakes with magnitudes of 8.1 and 7.4 that occurred at 19:28:31 UTC on 4 March 2021. The epicentres were located southeast of Raoul Island in the Kermadec Islands, part of the New Zealand outlying islands. The main magnitude 8.1 earthquake was preceded by a magnitude 7.4 foreshock and followed by a magnitude 6.1 aftershock. A separate, unrelated magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand, approximately 900 km to the south, several hours before the main quakes. More than a dozen aftershocks exceeded magnitude 6.
An earthquake occurred off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula on July 28, 2021, at 10:15 p.m. local time. The large megathrust earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.2 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A tsunami warning was issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) but later cancelled. The mainshock was followed by a number of aftershocks, including three that were of magnitude 5.9, 6.1 and 6.9 respectively.
The 2021 Loyalty Islands earthquake was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck offshore between Vanuatu and New Caledonia on February 11, 2021 at 00:19 local time. It is the 4th largest earthquake of 2021.
The 2021 South Sandwich Islands earthquakes were a pair of powerful earthquakes, followed by many strong aftershocks which struck along the South Sandwich Trench in August 2021. The quakes measured 7.5 and 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale, according to the United States Geological Survey. The mainshock is tied with another event in 1929 as the largest earthquake ever recorded in the South Atlantic region, and is tied with the 2021 Kermadec Islands earthquake as the second largest earthquake of 2021.
The 2002 Port Vila earthquake occurred in the early dawn of January 3, 2002, 04:22 a.m. local time (UTC+11) northwest of Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. It had a magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) west of the island on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. There are no exact estimates on the number of injured individuals, but the majority of accounts say there were "several" amounts of injured civilians. the event also caused a minor tsunami of about 0.4−0.8 m just 11 minutes after the quake.
