M4.6 earthquake 94 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 94 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Mon, Sep 21, 1981, 7:22 PM GMT+11 (08:22 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 73 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-09-21 08:22:14 UTC
- Depth
- 33.4 km (20.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.943° S, 167.262° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001g0p. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:01 AM UTC.