M5.2 earthquake 71 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 71 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu on Tue, Mar 26, 2002, 9:15 PM GMT+11 (10:15 UTC), 228 km (141 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.9 85 km NW 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
- 5.2 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2002-03-26 10:15:21 UTC
- Depth
- 227.7 km (141.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.900° S, 169.200° 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 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.13 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Oblique reverse
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 74°, dip 53°, rake 140°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 191°, dip 59°, rake 44°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 137
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.351 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8954 days ago · 293 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.279 km NNE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8918 days ago · 258 km deep · 26 km away
- 5.985 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8916 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000b13d (also filed as gcmtb032602e, gcmt20020326101521, iscgem2932816). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 1:29 PM UTC.