Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake 54 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 54 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sun, May 17, 1987, 4:12 PM GMT+11 (05:12 UTC), 177 km (110 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.6 37 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.6 (mw), moderate
Local time
UTC
1987-05-17 05:12:11 UTC
Depth
176.8 km (109.9 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
13.568° S, 167.154° 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
CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.559 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 14375 days ago · 307 km deep · 38 km away
  2. 4.5128 km N of Sola, Vanuatu · 14375 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
  3. 4.769 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14332 days ago · 262 km deep · 74 km away
  4. 6.637 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14330 days ago · 48 km deep · 92 km away
  5. 5.728 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14330 days ago · 46 km deep · 83 km away
  6. 5.419 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14330 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
  7. 4.933 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14330 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away
  8. 4.436 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14330 days ago · 33 km deep · 91 km away
  9. 4.819 km E of Sola, Vanuatu · 14329 days ago · 63 km deep · 72 km away
  10. 4.437 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14329 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
  11. 4.241 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14329 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
  12. 5.130 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14327 days ago · 58 km deep · 86 km away
  13. 4.643 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14327 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away

Before

  1. 5.165 km NNE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14398 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000352d (also filed as gcmtb051787a, gcmt19870517051212, iscgem467219). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 3:31 AM UTC.