Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 106 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 106 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Sun, Jul 19, 1981, 3:42 PM GMT+11 (04:42 UTC), 46 km (29 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.5 (ms), moderate
Local time: Sun, Jul 19, 1981, 3:42 PM GMT+11
UTC: 1981-07-19 04:42:59 UTC
Depth: 46.0 km (28.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.143° S, 167.524° 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. Forecast107 kmNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 21 in the 60 days after this one and 49 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 usp0001et6 (also filed as gcmtb071981b, gcmt19810719044259, iscgem623928). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:52 AM UTC.