Vanuatu earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake 143 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 143 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Tue, Jul 21, 1981, 9:31 AM GMT+11 (22:31 UTC), 22 km (14 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.0 78 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecast More in Vanuatu

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.9 (mb), light
Local time: Tue, Jul 21, 1981, 9:31 AM GMT+11
UTC: 1981-07-20 22:31:42 UTC
Depth: 22.0 km (13.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.336° S, 167.009° 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

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast145 kmWNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 17 in the 60 days after this one and 52 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 usp0001eu6 (also filed as iscgem624014). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:37 AM UTC.