Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.2 earthquake 66 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 66 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Thu, Jul 16, 1981, 9:10 AM GMT+11 (22:10 UTC), 32 km (20 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 77 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecast More in Vanuatu

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.2 (mb), moderate
Local time: Thu, Jul 16, 1981, 9:10 AM GMT+11
UTC: 1981-07-15 22:10:52 UTC
Depth: 32.0 km (19.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.555° S, 167.718° 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.

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast66 kmWNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 43 in the 60 days after this one and 26 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Vanuatu earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001eqx (also filed as iscgemsup623753). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:14 AM UTC.