M6.6 earthquake 37 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 37 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu on Mon, Jul 6, 1987, 1:49 PM GMT+11 (02:49 UTC), 48 km (30 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-07-06 02:49:42 UTC
- Depth
- 47.5 km (29.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 14.074° S, 167.828° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.59 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 6.35 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 6819), matched to this event by time and place.
NOAA’s record of this earthquake gives no deaths, injuries or damage.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt strongly on the Banks Islands. A small local tsunami was reported. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 7 Focal mech. C Energy 8.4+2.1*10**13 Nm CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN, IDA L.P.B.: 23S, 62C M.W.: 15S, 35C Centroid Location: Origin Time 02:49:49.1 0.2 Lat 13.94S 0.02 Lon 167.94E 0.01 Dep 15.0 FIX Half-duration 8.0 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm Mrr=9.55 0.10 Mtt=-0.96 0.08 Mff=-8.60 0.09 Mrt=0.35 0.50 Mrf=1.22 0.51 Mtf=2.61 0.08 Principal Axes: (T) Val=9.66 Plg=85 Azm=304 (N) Val=-0.20 Plg=4 Azm=163 (P) Val=-9.46 Plg=3 Azm=73 Best Double Couple:Mo=9.6*10**18 NP1:Strike=159 Dip=42 Slip=84 NP2:Strike=347 Dip=48 Slip=95
From the USGS event page for usp00036ct. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 14.3% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.6 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.6 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.728 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14332 days ago · 46 km deep · 10 km away
- 5.419 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14332 days ago · 33 km deep · 21 km away
- 4.933 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14332 days ago · 33 km deep · 4 km away
- 4.436 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14332 days ago · 33 km deep · 6 km away
- 4.819 km E of Sola, Vanuatu · 14332 days ago · 63 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.437 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14332 days ago · 33 km deep · 1 km away
- 4.241 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14331 days ago · 33 km deep · 7 km away
- 5.130 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14330 days ago · 58 km deep · 7 km away
- 4.643 km SE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14329 days ago · 33 km deep · 7 km away
- 4.246 km SSE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14325 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.530 km ESE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14315 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
- 5.6101 km ENE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14294 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00036ct (also filed as choy19870706024942, gcmtc070687c, gcmt19870706024941, atlas19870706024943, iscgem461430). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 11:10 AM UTC.