M5.8 earthquake Vanuatu region
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck in the Vanuatu region on Wed, Jun 24, 1987, 10:42 PM GMT+12 (10:42 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-06-24 10:42:25 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.243° S, 173.640° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.76 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.8 | 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.: 11S, 26C Centroid Location: Origin Time 10:42:31.1 0.7 Lat 21.21S 0.06 Lon 173.33E 0.06 Dep 40.5 5.6 Half-duration 3.0 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=-0.02 0.18 Mtt=-3.09 0.34 Mff=3.10 0.29 Mrt=1.30 0.39 Mrf=-0.99 0.40 Mtf=-4.17 0.22 Principal Axes: (T) Val=5.59 Plg=15 Azm=62 (N) Val=-0.30 Plg=73 Azm=272 (P) Val=-5.29 Plg=8 Azm=154 Best Double Couple:Mo=5.4*10**17 NP1:Strike=199 Dip=74 Slip=5 NP2:Strike=108 Dip=85 Slip=164
From the USGS event page for usp000361h. 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
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.8 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000361h (also filed as gcmtb062487c, gcmt19870624104225, iscgem465042). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:29 AM UTC.