M4.2 earthquake Vanuatu region
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck in the Vanuatu region on Mon, Jan 14, 1985, 12:03 AM GMT+11 (13:03 UTC), 636 km (395 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 Vanuatu region. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-01-13 13:03:46 UTC
- Depth
- 635.6 km (394.9 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 14.934° S, 171.485° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002b00. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:17 AM UTC.