M4.5 earthquake 128 km SSW of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 128 km SSW of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea on Wed, Mar 18, 1981, 10:20 PM GMT+9 (13:20 UTC), 103 km (64 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-03-18 13:20:52 UTC
- Depth
- 102.7 km (63.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 3.781° S, 140.924° E
- Region
- Papua New Guinea
- 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
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
None recorded.
Earthquakes todayPapua New Guinea earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001cs2. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 2:34 AM UTC.