M5.6 earthquake 198 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 198 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Mon, Aug 9, 1982, 9:46 PM GMT+11 (10:46 UTC), 33 km (21 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
- 1982-08-09 10:46:14 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 12.715° S, 166.161° 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 · 12 stations |
| 5.57 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.6 | 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 B080982C DATA USED: GDSN L.P. BODY WAVES: 11S, 27C, T=45 CENTROID LOCATION: ORIGIN TIME 10:46:17.9 0.5 LAT 12.88S 0.08;LON 165.95E 0.07 DEP 15.0 FIX;HALF-DURATION 1.7 MOMENT TENSOR; SCALE 10**24 D-CM MRR=1.93 0.10; MTT=-0.41 0.13 MFF=-1.52 0.11; MRT=-0.04 0.30 MRF=-2.09 0.43; MTF=0.69 0.10 PRINCIPAL AXES: 1.(T) VAL=2.95;PLG=64;AZM=103 2.(N) -0.28; 12; 349 3.(P) -2.67; 23; 254 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:M0=2.8*10**24 NP1:STRIKE=321;DIP=24;SLIP=60 NP2:Strike=173;Dip=69;Slip=102
From the USGS event page for usp0001nxj. 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.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
Before
- 4.5187 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 16127 days ago · 33 km deep · 40 km away
- 5.5186 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 16128 days ago · 20 km deep · 42 km away
- 7.0207 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 16128 days ago · 31 km deep · 28 km away
- 4.5162 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 16131 days ago · 44 km deep · 62 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001nxj (also filed as gcmtb080982c, gcmt19820809104614, iscgem593413). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 9:22 PM UTC.