M3.9 earthquake 102 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 102 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu on Sun, Dec 16, 2001, 9:53 AM GMT+11 (22:53 UTC), 234 km (145 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 33 km N 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
- 3.9 (mb, body-wave), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2001-12-15 22:53:42 UTC
- Depth
- 233.8 km (145.3 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.638° S, 169.080° 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
- Stations used
- 9
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.867 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 9040 days ago · 10 km deep · 55 km away
- 5.233 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 9028 days ago · 271 km deep · 73 km away
- 3.6116 km SE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9025 days ago · 242 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.527 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 9021 days ago · 155 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.776 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 9014 days ago · 281 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.551 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 9001 days ago · 168 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.684 km SSE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9000 days ago · 33 km deep · 56 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000aupc. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 1:59 PM UTC.