M4.4 earthquake 256 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 256 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Sat, Dec 12, 1981, 3:29 AM GMT+11 (16:29 UTC), 155 km (97 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 238 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.4 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-12-11 16:29:49 UTC
- Depth
- 155.4 km (96.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.604° S, 170.395° 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.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.1237 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16353 days ago · 33 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.7238 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16324 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
Before
- 4.9southeast of the Loyalty Islands · 16368 days ago · 36 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.9281 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16373 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.6288 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16373 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
- 6.2291 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16373 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.0260 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16377 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.9193 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16380 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.5233 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16381 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
- 4.8190 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16382 days ago · 33 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.6229 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16384 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
- 4.7234 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16385 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001hc3. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:20 PM UTC.