Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 95 km W of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 95 km W of Sola, Vanuatu on Mon, Dec 2, 1985, 7:05 AM GMT+11 (20:05 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.6 136 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (mb), moderate
Local time: Mon, Dec 2, 1985, 7:05 AM GMT+11
UTC: 1985-12-01 20:05:11 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 13.770° S, 166.677° 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 2.3 and up: 68 in the 60 days after this one and 25 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 68.

Before

Earthquakes today Vanuatu earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002nf8 (also filed as iscgem507390). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:35 AM UTC.