Vanuatu earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in Vanuatu on Wed, Apr 29, 1981, 10:21 AM GMT+11 (23:21 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.6 118 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.5 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1981-04-28 23:21:56 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
14.060° S, 166.365° 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
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 19 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001den. Read Mon, Sep 21, 2026, 2:53 PM UTC.