M4.6 earthquake 63 km SW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 63 km SW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sun, Oct 11, 1981, 6:57 PM GMT+11 (07:57 UTC), 223 km (139 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 31 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-10-11 07:57:37 UTC
- Depth
- 223.0 km (138.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 14.300° S, 167.150° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.731 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 16413 days ago · 96 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.537 km W of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 16397 days ago · 56 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.930 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 16358 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001gda. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC.