Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake 127 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 127 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Sun, Dec 22, 1985, 1:40 AM GMT+11 (14:40 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 133 km W of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.4 (mw), moderate
Local time: Sun, Dec 22, 1985, 1:40 AM GMT+11
UTC: 1985-12-21 14:40:29 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 14.114° S, 166.365° 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: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 41 in the 60 days after this one and 57 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002p60 (also filed as gcmtb122185d, gcmt19851221144029, iscgem508968). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:23 AM UTC.