Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 52 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 52 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Wed, Dec 9, 1987, 6:10 AM GMT+11 (19:10 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.3 (mw), moderate
Local time
UTC
1987-12-08 19:10:53 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
13.434° S, 167.380° 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
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.4100 km NE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14174 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
  2. 4.941 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14157 days ago · 234 km deep · 64 km away
  3. 4.562 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14140 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away

Before

  1. 4.648 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14175 days ago · 33 km deep · 4 km away
  2. 4.472 km NE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14176 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
  3. 5.451 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14176 days ago · 33 km deep · 3 km away
  4. 4.785 km NE of Sola, Vanuatu · 14176 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
  5. 6.236 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14176 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away
  6. 4.112 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14176 days ago · 33 km deep · 54 km away
  7. 4.858 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14176 days ago · 33 km deep · 6 km away
  8. 6.331 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14176 days ago · 48 km deep · 22 km away
  9. 4.741 km N of Sola, Vanuatu · 14177 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003b3d (also filed as gcmtb120887b, gcmt19871208191053, iscgem450161). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 12:03 PM UTC.