M8.1 earthquake 1920 Vanuatu Earthquake
A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck 1920 Vanuatu Earthquake on Tue, Sep 21, 1920, 1:39 AM GMT+11 (14:39 UTC), 25 km (16 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 8.1 (mw), great
- Local time
- UTC
- 1920-09-20 14:39:03 UTC
- Depth
- 25.0 km (15.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.982° S, 168.478° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 3162), matched to this event by time and place.
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with its tsunami and other effects
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 15.2% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.0 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.41
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 5.1 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
None recorded.
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem912618. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 4:06 PM UTC.