M5.8 earthquake 34 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 34 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu on Tue, Jul 21, 1981, 10:47 PM GMT+11 (11:47 UTC), 143 km (89 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-07-21 11:47:00 UTC
- Depth
- 143.1 km (88.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.436° S, 167.473° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 1.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- -0.4 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.050 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16495 days ago · 191 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.877 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 16473 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
- 5.041 km ESE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 16458 days ago · 130 km deep · 25 km away
- 4.944 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 16445 days ago · 152 km deep · 49 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001eup (also filed as gcmtb072181c, gcmt19810721114700, iscgem624050). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC.