Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake 108 km W of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 108 km W of Sola, Vanuatu on Tue, Feb 24, 1981, 3:12 AM GMT+11 (16:12 UTC), 66 km (41 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.7 118 km W of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.6 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1981-02-23 16:12:26 UTC
Depth
66.4 km (41.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
13.819° S, 166.552° 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.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.7118 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 16650 days ago · 82 km deep · 15 km away
  2. 4.6116 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 16650 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away
  3. 4.5127 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 16649 days ago · 77 km deep · 20 km away
  4. 4.9184 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16641 days ago · 36 km deep · 78 km away
  5. 4.8135 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16610 days ago · 65 km deep · 47 km away
  6. 5.557 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 16595 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001cbn (also filed as gcmtb022381c, gcmt19810223161226, iscgem631713). Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 1:36 PM UTC.