M5.9 earthquake 17 km NNE of Norsup, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 17 km NNE of Norsup, Vanuatu on Fri, Aug 13, 1965, 5:04 AM GMT+11 (18:04 UTC), 38 km (23 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M7.4 43 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1965-08-12 18:04:56 UTC
- Depth
- 37.7 km (23.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.918° S, 167.468° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Strongest shaking
- V, moderate shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- V, moderate shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 8.5% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.7 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
- ±0.20
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.717 km ENE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 48 km deep · 10 km away
- 5.944 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 24 km deep · 52 km away
- 5.644 km SW of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 21 km deep · 58 km away
- 7.443 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 30 km deep · 55 km away
- 6.263 km SSE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 46 km deep · 82 km away
- 6.043 km SW of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22328 days ago · 17 km deep · 62 km away
- 6.241 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22324 days ago · 25 km deep · 49 km away
- 5.939 km ESE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22313 days ago · 10 km deep · 23 km away
Before
- 6.926 km N of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22330 days ago · 48 km deep · 10 km away
- 7.631 km S of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22330 days ago · 48 km deep · 33 km away
- 6.026 km SSE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22331 days ago · 30 km deep · 30 km away
- 6.922 km S of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22331 days ago · 31 km deep · 43 km away
- 5.817 km SE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22331 days ago · 21 km deep · 38 km away
- 7.221 km WNW of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22331 days ago · 18 km deep · 73 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem854519. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:06 AM UTC.