M5.5 earthquake 173 km W of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 173 km W of Isangel, Vanuatu on Tue, Aug 16, 1977, 5:15 PM GMT+11 (06:15 UTC), 12 km (7 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-08-16 06:15:16 UTC
- Depth
- 12.0 km (7.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.280° S, 167.655° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.62 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.2 |
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
- 124
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1156 km SSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17945 days ago · 33 km deep · 36 km away
- 4.6114 km WNW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17944 days ago · 33 km deep · 69 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000q49 (also filed as iscgem694601). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:47 PM UTC.