M5.5 earthquake 124 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 124 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Tue, Jan 13, 1987, 7:03 PM GMT+11 (08:03 UTC), 53 km (33 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-01-13 08:03:00 UTC
- Depth
- 52.9 km (32.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.463° S, 166.477° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.49 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.5 | 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.: 13S, 31C Centroid Location: Origin Time 08:03: 2.9 0.5 Lat 13.48S 0.04 Lon 166.33E 0.04 Dep 49.0 2.3 Half-duration 2.2 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=1.75 0.06 Mtt=0.58 0.12 Mff=-2.33 0.10 Mrt=0.44 0.09 Mrf=0.30 0.10 Mtf=0.18 0.08 Principal Axes: (T) Val=1.93 Plg=71 Azm=346 (N) Val=0.43 Plg=19 Azm=178 (P) Val=-2.36 Plg=4 Azm=87 Best Double Couple:Mo=2.1*10**17 NP1:Strike=158 Dip=44 Slip=63 NP2:Strike=14 Dip=52 Slip=114
From the USGS event page for usp00031mn. 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.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00031mn (also filed as gcmtb011387a, gcmt19870113080258, iscgem476486). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 7:56 PM UTC.