Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 94 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 94 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Thu, Jan 3, 1974, 10:15 PM GMT+11 (11:15 UTC), 9 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M7.2 70 km NNW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.5 (mb), moderate
Local time: Thu, Jan 3, 1974, 10:15 PM GMT+11
UTC: 1974-01-03 11:15:24 UTC
Depth: 9.0 km (5.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 14.562° S, 166.347° 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.

Stations used: 46

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 34 in the 60 days after this one and 39 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 usp00004su (also filed as iscgem752230). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:47 PM UTC.