M4.6 earthquake 79 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 79 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu on Sat, Feb 16, 1985, 9:49 PM GMT+12 (09:49 UTC), 266 km (166 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 70 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-02-16 09:49:52 UTC
- Depth
- 266.4 km (165.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.834° S, 169.424° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.870 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 15185 days ago · 49 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.8112 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 15150 days ago · 313 km deep · 33 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002bye. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 3:02 PM UTC.