Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.2 earthquake 102 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 102 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Thu, Jul 14, 1994, 6:53 PM GMT+11 (07:53 UTC), 36 km (22 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.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.2 (Ms, surface-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Thu, Jul 14, 1994, 6:53 PM GMT+11
UTC: 1994-07-14 07:53:06 UTC
Depth: 36.2 km (22.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.127° S, 167.587° 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
5.2	Ms, surface-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · 34 stations
5.52	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.21

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. Forecast103 kmNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 58 in the 60 days after this one and 35 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 usp0006fnd (also filed as iscgem164597). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 10:23 AM UTC.