M5.2 earthquake 19 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 19 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Tue, Jan 6, 1987, 8:51 AM GMT+12 (20:51 UTC), 132 km (82 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 42 km E of Luganville, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-01-05 20:51:47 UTC
- Depth
- 132.1 km (82.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 14.931° S, 167.208° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.2 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 11S, 24C Centroid Location: Origin Time 20:51:51.8 1.2 Lat 14.57S 0.09 Lon 166.93E 0.11 Dep 102.8 3.6 Half-duration 1.6 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**16 Nm Mrr=5.93 0.48 Mtt=2.33 1.04 Mff=-8.26 0.98 Mrt=-1.32 0.51 Mrf=-2.72 0.47 Mtf=-2.06 0.67 Principal Axes: (T) Val=6.65 Plg=74 Azm=148 (N) Val=2.56 Plg=11 Azm=13 (P) Val=-9.21 Plg=11 Azm=281 Best Double Couple:Mo=7.9*10**16 NP1:Strike=357 Dip=35 Slip=71 NP2:Strike=201 Dip=57 Slip=103
From the USGS event page for usp00031e4. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.218 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14514 days ago · 132 km deep · 13 km away
- 4.951 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14501 days ago · 191 km deep · 36 km away
- 4.935 km NNE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 14478 days ago · 153 km deep · 98 km away
- 5.742 km E of Luganville, Vanuatu · 14476 days ago · 120 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.258 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14469 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
Before
- 5.093 km SSE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14518 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
- 6.792 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14518 days ago · 15 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.829 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14526 days ago · 159 km deep · 10 km away
- 4.112 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14541 days ago · 250 km deep · 22 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00031e4 (also filed as gcmtb010587c, gcmt19870105205151, iscgem475890). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 5:33 PM UTC.