Vanuatu earthquakes

M6.3 earthquake 115 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 115 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Sat, Dec 21, 1985, 9:01 PM GMT+11 (10:01 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.3 (Mw, moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sat, Dec 21, 1985, 9:01 PM GMT+11
UTC: 1985-12-21 10:01:58 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 14.187° S, 166.452° 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
6.3	Mw, moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
6.25	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.2	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 18S, 41C Centroid Location: Origin Time 10:02: 5.6 0.2 Lat 14.29S 0.02 Lon 166.40E 0.02 Dep 37.5 1.6 Half-duration 4.7 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**25 D-CM Mrr=2.30 0.04 Mtt=0.74 0.07 Mff=-3.04 0.07 Mrt=0.85 0.08 Mrf=-0.38 0.09 Mtf=0.32 0.04 Principal Axes: (T) Val=2.68 Plg=67 Azm=6 (N) Val=0.42 Plg=23 Azm=172 (P) Val=-3.10 Plg=5 Azm=264 Best Double Couple:Mo=2.9*10**25 NP1:Strike=17 Dip=45 Slip=123 NP2:Strike=154 Dip=54 Slip=61

From the USGS event page for usp0002p5a. 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: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.3 and up: 45 in the 60 days after this one and 54 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002p5a (also filed as gcmtb122185c, gcmt19851221100157, iscgem508936). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 5:05 AM UTC.