M5.5 earthquake 57 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 57 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Thu, Apr 23, 1981, 11:30 AM GMT+11 (00:30 UTC), 33 km (21 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
- 5.5 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-04-23 00:30:44 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 14.623° S, 166.760° 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
- 5.3% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.2 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
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
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.2136 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 16585 days ago · 33 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.5109 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 16585 days ago · 33 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.5Vanuatu · 16582 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.8115 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 16577 days ago · 41 km deep · 78 km away
- 5.1144 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 16577 days ago · 35 km deep · 100 km away
- 5.944 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 16553 days ago · 125 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.816 km NNW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 16552 days ago · 130 km deep · 42 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001da1 (also filed as iscgem628590). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 6:27 AM UTC.