Vanuatu earthquakes

M4.3 earthquake 96 km W of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 96 km W of Sola, Vanuatu on Sat, Dec 21, 1985, 2:42 PM GMT+11 (03:42 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.4 82 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.3 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1985-12-21 03:42:34 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
13.745° S, 166.668° 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 1.5 and up: 50 in the 60 days after this one and 52 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002p4x. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 2:50 PM UTC.