M4.5 earthquake 68 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 68 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu on Mon, Apr 20, 1981, 6:15 AM GMT+11 (19:15 UTC), 154 km (96 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.9 44 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-04-19 19:15:45 UTC
- Depth
- 154.0 km (95.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.363° S, 167.775° 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 1.5 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 usp0001d87. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 4:31 AM UTC.