Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake 192 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 192 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Mon, Sep 1, 1980, 1:12 AM GMT+11 (14:12 UTC), 42 km (26 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.2 178 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.6 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1980-08-31 14:12:40 UTC
Depth
42.0 km (26.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
12.499° S, 166.462° 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.

Depth from
CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Stations used
93

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.5164 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 16813 days ago · 62 km deep · 45 km away
  2. 4.9186 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16784 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
  3. 5.3155 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16778 days ago · 39 km deep · 42 km away
  4. 5.2104 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16773 days ago · 191 km deep · 89 km away
  5. 5.0191 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16770 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away
  6. 6.2178 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16766 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
  7. 4.8210 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16764 days ago · 86 km deep · 75 km away

Before

  1. 5.2149 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 16841 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00019ms (also filed as gcmtb083180a, gcmt19800831141240, iscgem640824). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:50 AM UTC.