Vanuatu earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 75 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 75 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Sun, Jan 5, 1986, 2:07 PM GMT+12 (02:07 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.4 82 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecast More in Vanuatu

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.8 (ms), light
Local time: Sun, Jan 5, 1986, 2:07 PM GMT+12
UTC: 1986-01-05 02:07:35 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.723° S, 167.604° 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

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast75 kmW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 9 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 usp0002ps7 (also filed as iscgem504984). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:31 PM UTC.