Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 50 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 50 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Sun, Jul 26, 1981, 5:00 AM GMT+11 (18:00 UTC), 191 km (119 mi) below the surface.

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.0 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1981-07-25 18:00:16 UTC
Depth
191.0 km (118.7 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
16.152° S, 167.889° 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.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.898 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16491 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
  2. 5.084 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16489 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  3. 4.578 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16478 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
  4. 4.877 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 16473 days ago · 33 km deep · 65 km away

Before

  1. 5.834 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 16499 days ago · 143 km deep · 91 km away
  2. 4.787 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16500 days ago · 30 km deep · 100 km away
  3. 5.090 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 99 km away
  4. 4.9Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001exk. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:39 AM UTC.