M4.0 earthquake 69 km SSE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 69 km SSE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Mon, Mar 3, 1986, 4:52 AM GMT+12 (16:52 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 70 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.0 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1986-03-02 16:52:58 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.277° S, 168.648° 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.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7106 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 14814 days ago · 249 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.448 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 14791 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
- 5.070 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 14778 days ago · 146 km deep · 92 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002rfb. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:29 PM UTC.