Vanuatu earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 83 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 83 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Wed, Jul 15, 1981, 10:37 PM GMT+11 (11:37 UTC), 36 km (22 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.9 88 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecastMore in Vanuatu

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
4.8 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1981-07-15 11:37:08 UTC
Depth
36.0 km (22.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter
17.231° S, 167.727° 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 1.8 and up: 57 in the 60 days after this one and 14 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.988 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 6 km away
  2. 4.5111 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 28 km away
  3. 4.872 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
  4. 5.6108 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 15 km deep · 52 km away
  5. 4.9Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 21 km away
  6. 4.754 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
  7. 4.8106 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 40 km away
  8. 5.091 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 39 km deep · 52 km away
  9. 4.954 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
  10. 4.549 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 54 km away
  11. 4.873 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 48 km away
  12. 5.266 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 32 km deep · 36 km away
  13. 4.280 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
  14. 5.577 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 31 km deep · 43 km away
  15. 4.773 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
  16. 4.472 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
  17. 4.591 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 29 km away
  18. 4.982 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 28 km deep · 6 km away
  19. 4.4100 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
  20. 4.684 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 5 km away
  21. 4.495 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
  22. 4.359 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 38 km away
  23. 4.368 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
  24. 5.195 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 34 km deep · 12 km away
  25. 4.665 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
  26. 4.686 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
  27. 5.0106 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 43 km away
  28. 4.7121 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 56 km away
  29. 4.6121 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
  30. 4.8119 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 54 km away
  31. 4.7112 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
  32. 4.791 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
  33. 4.796 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away
  34. 4.1Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 43 km away
  35. 4.691 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away
  36. 5.5106 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 46 km deep · 24 km away
  37. 5.1132 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16501 days ago · 27 km deep · 68 km away
  38. 4.787 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16501 days ago · 30 km deep · 56 km away
  39. 4.5126 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16500 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
  40. 4.9143 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16500 days ago · 22 km deep · 77 km away
  41. 4.3133 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16500 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
  42. 4.5109 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16499 days ago · 33 km deep · 57 km away
  43. 4.795 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16498 days ago · 21 km deep · 23 km away
  44. 4.5109 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16498 days ago · 27 km deep · 26 km away
  45. 4.5117 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16498 days ago · 33 km deep · 42 km away
  46. 4.7128 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16498 days ago · 33 km deep · 63 km away
  47. 4.681 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16496 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
  48. 3.8120 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16495 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  49. 4.485 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16494 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
  50. 4.898 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16492 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
  51. 5.078 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16492 days ago · 33 km deep · 83 km away
  52. 4.5126 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16491 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
  53. 5.084 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16490 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
  54. 4.6106 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16480 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
  55. 5.0105 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16480 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
  56. 4.5114 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16480 days ago · 33 km deep · 35 km away
  57. 4.578 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16478 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away

Before

  1. 5.759 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16505 days ago · 20 km deep · 28 km away
  2. 4.6Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 33 km deep · 57 km away
  3. 4.476 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
  4. 4.664 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 33 km deep · 61 km away
  5. 5.090 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 33 km deep · 48 km away
  6. 4.9Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
  7. 4.8105 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
  8. 4.998 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 33 km deep · 15 km away
  9. 5.2107 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 36 km deep · 32 km away
  10. 5.673 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 15 km deep · 17 km away
  11. 7.092 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16506 days ago · 30 km deep · 14 km away
  12. 4.673 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16508 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
  13. 4.881 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16515 days ago · 33 km deep · 29 km away
  14. 4.926 km ENE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16523 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away

Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001eqg. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:26 PM UTC.