M5.8 earthquake 163 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 163 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia on Sat, Jun 20, 1981, 11:31 PM GMT+11 (12:31 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.2 181 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Ms, surface-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-06-20 12:31:48 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.379° S, 169.451° E
- Region
- New Caledonia
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 15 stations |
| 5.75 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.7 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
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
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.8 and up: 18 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2160 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16542 days ago · 27 km deep · 4 km away
- 4.5169 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16542 days ago · 33 km deep · 5 km away
- 5.1167 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16542 days ago · 26 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.3130 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16541 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.5156 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16540 days ago · 33 km deep · 7 km away
- 4.3152 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16535 days ago · 33 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.6176 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16524 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.8170 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16510 days ago · 36 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.5111 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16510 days ago · 30 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.7171 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16510 days ago · 25 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.7164 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16510 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
- 5.6170 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16510 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.085 km NE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16510 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
- 5.4175 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16510 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.3183 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16509 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 5.0170 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16505 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
- 4.7210 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
- 6.2181 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia · 16504 days ago · 40 km deep · 32 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayNew Caledonia earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001e8f (also filed as gcmtb062081b, gcmt19810620123148, iscgem625446). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:36 PM UTC.