M5.1 earthquake 164 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 164 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu on Sun, Mar 29, 1981, 7:33 AM GMT+11 (20:33 UTC), 49 km (30 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 96 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-03-28 20:33:30 UTC
- Depth
- 48.5 km (30.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.023° S, 169.450° 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.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7116 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16609 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
- 5.396 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu · 16572 days ago · 58 km deep · 70 km away
Before
- 5.2102 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16623 days ago · 26 km deep · 71 km away
- 5.1136 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16624 days ago · 37 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.5161 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16627 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
- 4.7174 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 16643 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001cxf. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:21 AM UTC.