M5.9 earthquake 141 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 141 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Mon, Jan 24, 1972, 4:18 AM GMT+11 (17:18 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.9 138 km WNW of Sola, 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
- 1972-01-23 17:18:38 UTC
- Depth
- 15.0 km (9.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.061° S, 166.542° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
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
- ±0.27
- Depth from
- From location
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.0132 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19975 days ago · 20 km deep · 13 km away
- 6.9138 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19975 days ago · 56 km deep · 27 km away
- 5.9164 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19975 days ago · 10 km deep · 34 km away
- 6.1145 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19975 days ago · 51 km deep · 21 km away
- 5.688 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19937 days ago · 209 km deep · 71 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem777160. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 7:40 PM UTC.