Vanuatu earthquakes

M7.1 earthquake 112 km W of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 112 km W of Sola, Vanuatu on Sat, Dec 21, 1985, 12:13 PM GMT+11 (01:13 UTC), 43 km (27 mi) below the surface.

Map

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 7.1 (mw), major
Local time: Sat, Dec 21, 1985, 12:13 PM GMT+11
UTC: 1985-12-21 01:13:22 UTC
Depth: 43.0 km (26.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 13.966° S, 166.516° E
Region: Vanuatu
Strongest shaking: V, moderate shaking
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: V, moderate shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 8.6% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 2.3 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

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 2.5 and up: 56 in the 60 days after this one and 47 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Vanuatu earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002p4n (also filed as gcmtc122185a, gcmt19851221011321, atlas19851221011323, iscgem508894). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:02 AM UTC.