Vanuatu earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in Vanuatu on Wed, Jul 15, 1981, 8:39 PM GMT+11 (09:39 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.0 90 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecastMore in Vanuatu

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.9 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1981-07-15 09:39:02 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
16.852° S, 167.341° 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

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 58 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.090 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 11 km away
  2. 4.476 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
  3. 4.6Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
  4. 5.759 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 20 km deep · 86 km away
  5. 4.883 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 36 km deep · 59 km away
  6. 4.988 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
  7. 4.5111 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
  8. 5.6108 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 15 km deep · 25 km away
  9. 4.9Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 56 km away
  10. 4.754 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
  11. 4.8106 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
  12. 5.091 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 39 km deep · 87 km away
  13. 4.873 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  14. 5.266 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 32 km deep · 88 km away
  15. 4.280 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
  16. 5.577 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 31 km deep · 87 km away
  17. 4.773 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
  18. 4.472 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 83 km away
  19. 4.591 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 64 km away
  20. 4.982 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 28 km deep · 61 km away
  21. 4.4100 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 42 km away
  22. 4.684 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
  23. 4.495 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
  24. 4.359 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
  25. 4.368 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16503 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
  26. 5.195 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 34 km deep · 48 km away
  27. 4.686 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 65 km away
  28. 5.0106 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 63 km away
  29. 4.7121 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
  30. 4.6121 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 38 km away
  31. 4.8119 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16502 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
  32. 4.7112 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16501 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
  33. 4.791 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16501 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
  34. 4.796 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16501 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
  35. 4.1Vanuatu · 16501 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
  36. 4.691 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16501 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
  37. 5.5106 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16500 days ago · 46 km deep · 38 km away
  38. 5.1132 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16500 days ago · 27 km deep · 52 km away
  39. 4.787 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16499 days ago · 30 km deep · 4 km away
  40. 4.5126 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16499 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
  41. 4.9143 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16499 days ago · 22 km deep · 64 km away
  42. 4.3133 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16498 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
  43. 4.5109 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16497 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
  44. 4.795 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16497 days ago · 21 km deep · 55 km away
  45. 4.5109 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16497 days ago · 27 km deep · 33 km away
  46. 4.5117 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16497 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
  47. 4.7128 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16497 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
  48. 4.681 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16494 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
  49. 5.050 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16494 days ago · 191 km deep · 97 km away
  50. 4.485 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16493 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
  51. 4.898 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16490 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
  52. 5.078 km SSW of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16490 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
  53. 4.5126 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16490 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away
  54. 5.084 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16489 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
  55. 4.6106 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16479 days ago · 33 km deep · 23 km away
  56. 5.0105 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16479 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
  57. 4.5114 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16479 days ago · 33 km deep · 36 km away
  58. 4.578 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16477 days ago · 33 km deep · 9 km away

Before

  1. 4.8105 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
  2. 4.998 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 33 km deep · 44 km away
  3. 5.2107 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 36 km deep · 28 km away
  4. 5.673 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 15 km deep · 72 km away
  5. 7.092 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16504 days ago · 30 km deep · 53 km away
  6. 4.673 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16507 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
  7. 4.881 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16514 days ago · 33 km deep · 74 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001eqa. Read Mon, Sep 21, 2026, 12:07 PM UTC.