M5.6 earthquake 72 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 72 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Mon, Jan 18, 1982, 3:23 PM GMT+11 (04:23 UTC), 44 km (27 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Ms, surface-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1982-01-18 04:23:37 UTC
- Depth
- 44.2 km (27.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.288° S, 167.814° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 7 stations |
| 5.8 | 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 B011882A DATA USED: GDSN L.P. BODY WAVES: 15S, 39C, T=45 CENTROID LOCATION: ORIGIN TIME 4:23:42.7 0.3 LAT 16.99S 0.05;LON 167.41E 0.04 DEP 12.0 1.9;HALF-DURATION 4.0 MOMENT TENSOR; SCALE 10**24 D-CM MRR=5.52 0.17; MTT=0.67 0.23 MFF=-6.19 0.24; MRT=0.51 0.48 MRF=-2.11 0.73; MTF=1.06 0.19 PRINCIPAL AXES: 1.(T) VAL=5.91;PLG=80;AZM=69 2.(N) 0.82; 2; 171 3.(P) -6.73; 10; 261 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:M0=6.3*10**24 NP1:STRIKE=354;DIP=35;SLIP=94 NP2:Strike=169;Dip=55;Slip=87
From the USGS event page for usp0001j36. 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 2.6 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.774 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16326 days ago · 22 km deep · 11 km away
- 5.144 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16318 days ago · 33 km deep · 28 km away
- 5.055 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 16288 days ago · 44 km deep · 81 km away
- 3.899 km ESE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 16271 days ago · 40 km deep · 96 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001j36 (also filed as gcmtb011882a, gcmt19820118042336, iscgem605731). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 9:45 AM UTC.