Vanuatu earthquakes

M6.9 earthquake 132 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 132 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sat, Apr 25, 1981, 8:50 AM GMT+11 (21:50 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.9 (ms), strong
Local time: Sat, Apr 25, 1981, 8:50 AM GMT+11
UTC: 1981-04-24 21:50:06 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 13.426° S, 166.421° E
Region: Vanuatu
Strongest shaking: VI, strong 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: VI, strong shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 16.2% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 2.8 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 24 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

4.8135 km WNW of Sola, VanuatuTue, Apr 7, 8:01 PM GMT+11 · 16604 days ago · 65 km deep · 4 km away

Earthquakes today Vanuatu earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001db4 (also filed as gcmtc042481b, gcmt19810424215006, iscgem628679, atlas19810424215009). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:17 AM UTC.