Vanuatu earthquakes

M7.2 earthquake 20 km WSW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 20 km WSW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Sat, Dec 29, 1973, 12:19 PM GMT+12 (00:19 UTC), 47 km (29 mi) below the surface.

Port-Vila forecast More in Vanuatu

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 7.2 (ms), major
Local time: Sat, Dec 29, 1973, 12:19 PM GMT+12
UTC: 1973-12-29 00:19:31 UTC
Depth: 47.0 km (29.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.117° S, 166.896° 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 4652), matched to this event by time and place.

Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)

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.

NOAA’s full record of this earthquake

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: 24.7% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 3.2 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Stations used: 117

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast328 kmNNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 4.2 and up: 50 in the 60 days after this one and 20 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Vanuatu earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00004py (also filed as atlas19731229001933, iscgem753927). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 5:04 AM UTC.