M6.9 earthquake 138 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 138 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Mon, Jan 24, 1972, 8:17 AM GMT+11 (21:17 UTC), 56 km (35 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.9 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1972-01-23 21:17:56 UTC
- Depth
- 55.7 km (34.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.278° S, 166.428° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong 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
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 18.5% 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
- ±0.30
- Depth from
- From location
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.9 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.9164 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19975 days ago · 10 km deep · 26 km away
- 6.1145 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19974 days ago · 51 km deep · 10 km away
- 5.688 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 19936 days ago · 209 km deep · 84 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem777164 (also filed as atlas19720123211755). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC.