M5.9 earthquake 4 km N of Norsup, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 4 km N of Norsup, Vanuatu on Sat, Mar 7, 1987, 6:11 PM GMT+12 (06:11 UTC), 36 km (22 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-03-07 06:11:17 UTC
- Depth
- 35.7 km (22.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.022° S, 167.399° 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
- 8.7% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.7 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
- 4.469 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 14452 days ago · 222 km deep · 79 km away
- 6.957 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 14456 days ago · 234 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.221 km SE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 14458 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
- 5.742 km E of Luganville, Vanuatu · 14465 days ago · 120 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.935 km NNE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 14467 days ago · 153 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.868 km WSW of Norsup, Vanuatu · 14468 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
- 6.425 km N of Norsup, Vanuatu · 14468 days ago · 24 km deep · 21 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000332c (also filed as gcmtb030787a, gcmt19870307061117, iscgem471448). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC.