Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 77 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 77 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Thu, Jul 14, 1994, 10:26 PM GMT+11 (11:26 UTC), 21 km (13 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.4 97 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecast More in Vanuatu

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (Mw, moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Thu, Jul 14, 1994, 10:26 PM GMT+11
UTC: 1994-07-14 11:26:33 UTC
Depth: 21.2 km (13.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 16.797° S, 167.423° 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
5.27	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.: 26S, 37C Centroid Location: Origin Time 11:26:37.0 0.4 Lat 16.38S 0.08 Lon 167.18E 0.07 Dep 15.0 FIX Half-duration 1.1 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**16 Nm Mrr=4.20 0.36 Mtt=2.59 0.59 Mff=-6.78 0.58 Mrt=-0.70 0.93 Mrf=-7.90 1.12 Mtf=3.27 0.39 Principal Axes: (T) Val=9.07 Plg=55 Azm=125 (N) Val=2.33 Plg=22 Azm=0 (P) Val=-11.40 Plg=26 Azm=258 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.0*10**17 NP1:Strike=308 Dip=27 Slip=35 NP2:Strike=186 Dip=74 Slip=113

From the USGS event page for usp0006fns. 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: CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast141 kmNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 51 in the 60 days after this one and 40 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Vanuatu earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0006fns (also filed as gcmtb071494e, gcmt19940714112634, iscgem164615). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 9:43 AM UTC.