M4.2 earthquake Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck in Vanuatu on Tue, Nov 17, 1987, 8:16 AM GMT+12 (20:16 UTC), 248 km (154 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 73 km ENE of Isangel, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-11-16 20:16:38 UTC
- Depth
- 247.9 km (154.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.888° S, 169.305° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003a61. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 11:21 PM UTC.