M7.4 earthquake 43 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 43 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu on Fri, Aug 13, 1965, 11:40 PM GMT+11 (12:40 UTC), 30 km (19 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 7.4 (mw), major
- Local time
- UTC
- 1965-08-13 12:40:31 UTC
- Depth
- 30.0 km (18.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.123° S, 166.995° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Strongest shaking
- VII, very strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 6595), matched to this event by time and place.
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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
- VII, very strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 29.7% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.3 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
- ±0.30
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 4.4 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.263 km SSE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 22327 days ago · 46 km deep · 88 km away
- 6.043 km SW of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22326 days ago · 17 km deep · 36 km away
- 6.241 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22322 days ago · 25 km deep · 14 km away
- 5.939 km ESE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22311 days ago · 10 km deep · 69 km away
Before
- 5.644 km SW of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22327 days ago · 21 km deep · 31 km away
- 5.944 km W of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22327 days ago · 24 km deep · 13 km away
- 5.717 km ENE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22327 days ago · 48 km deep · 59 km away
- 5.917 km NNE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22328 days ago · 38 km deep · 55 km away
- 6.926 km N of Norsup, Vanuatu · 22328 days ago · 48 km deep · 58 km away
- 7.631 km S of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 48 km deep · 41 km away
- 6.026 km SSE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 30 km deep · 51 km away
- 6.922 km S of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 31 km deep · 47 km away
- 5.817 km SE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 21 km deep · 61 km away
- 7.221 km WNW of Luganville, Vanuatu · 22329 days ago · 18 km deep · 73 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem854556. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 10:02 AM UTC.