M5.3 earthquake 65 km SW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 65 km SW of Sola, Vanuatu on Tue, Dec 29, 1987, 1:24 AM GMT+12 (13:24 UTC), 231 km (143 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 21 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-12-28 13:24:39 UTC
- Depth
- 230.9 km (143.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 14.355° S, 167.197° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.26 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.3 | 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.: 10S, 17C Centroid Location: Origin Time 13:24:38.3 1.9 Lat 14.45S 0.14 Lon 167.42E 0.13 Dep 193.8 3.1 Half-duration 1.6 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**16 Nm Mrr=9.51 0.72 Mtt=-0.99 1.03 Mff=-8.52 1.18 Mrt=-1.16 0.84 Mrf=3.06 0.72 Mtf=0.97 1.29 Principal Axes: (T) Val=10.10 Plg=80 Azm=241 (N) Val=-0.92 Plg=4 Azm=351 (P) Val=-9.19 Plg=10 Azm=82 Best Double Couple:Mo=9.6*10**16 NP1:Strike=177 Dip=35 Slip=96 NP2:Strike=349 Dip=55 Slip=85
From the USGS event page for usp0003bm9. 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 2.3 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.562 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14144 days ago · 33 km deep · 43 km away
- 5.521 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14143 days ago · 150 km deep · 73 km away
- 4.238 km E of Sola, Vanuatu · 14118 days ago · 10 km deep · 89 km away
Before
- 4.941 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14161 days ago · 234 km deep · 42 km away
- 5.143 km N of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 14179 days ago · 33 km deep · 35 km away
- 6.236 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14180 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.112 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14180 days ago · 33 km deep · 56 km away
- 6.331 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 14180 days ago · 48 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.741 km N of Sola, Vanuatu · 14181 days ago · 33 km deep · 100 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003bm9 (also filed as gcmtb122887b, gcmt19871228132437, iscgem451717). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:23 PM UTC.