M5.6 earthquake 170 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 170 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia on Thu, Jul 23, 1981, 11:50 AM GMT+11 (00:50 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.

Mont-Dore forecast More in New Caledonia

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.6 (mb), moderate
Local time: Thu, Jul 23, 1981, 11:50 AM GMT+11
UTC: 1981-07-23 00:50:17 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 21.681° S, 169.523° E
Region: New Caledonia
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: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Mont-Dore, New CaledoniaPopulation 24,680. Forecast312 kmENE

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today New Caledonia earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001evs (also filed as gcmtb072381b, gcmt19810723005017, iscgem624126). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:16 AM UTC.