144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and Futuna

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake — a major event — struck near 144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and Futuna on May 23, 1956, at a deep-focus depth of about 419 km. An earthquake this size would have been felt strongly across the surrounding region; deep-focus earthquakes rarely cause major surface damage despite their size. Casualties, damage and the recovery depend on local building standards, population and distance from the epicentre — the news coverage, references and photos below capture what happened on the ground.