M5.4 earthquake 67 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 67 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Mon, Sep 6, 1982, 8:09 AM GMT+11 (21:09 UTC), 232 km (144 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 83 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1982-09-05 21:09:47 UTC
- Depth
- 232.4 km (144.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.828° S, 167.979° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 25 stations |
| 5.85 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.8 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION HARVARD EVENT-FILE NAME B090582A DATA USED: GDSN L.P. BODY WAVES: 10S, 25C, T=45 CENTROID LOCATION: ORIGIN TIME 21: 9:53.7 0.3 LAT 15.71S 0.06;LON 167.57E 0.04 DEP 224.2 2.2;HALF-DURATION 3.0 MOMENT TENSOR; SCALE 10**24 D-CM MRR=2.02 0.26; MTT=-3.46 0.41 MFF=1.44 0.35; MRT=-5.30 0.23 MRF=-2.71 0.27; MTF=2.80 0.33 PRINCIPAL AXES: 1.(T) VAL=7.59;PLG=45;AZM=132 2.(N) -0.76; 31; 260 3.(P) -6.83; 29; 9 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:M0=7.2*10**24 NP1:STRIKE=149;DIP=33;SLIP=163 NP2:Strike=254;Dip=81;Slip=58
From the USGS event page for usp0001ped. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.932 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 16071 days ago · 136 km deep · 71 km away
- 6.083 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 16070 days ago · 18 km deep · 26 km away
- 5.077 km ESE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16053 days ago · 198 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.360 km E of Luganville, Vanuatu · 16044 days ago · 33 km deep · 50 km away
- 5.340 km NE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 16040 days ago · 132 km deep · 85 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001ped (also filed as gcmtb090582a, gcmt19820905210947, iscgem591591). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 12:42 PM UTC.