M5.9 earthquake 85 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 85 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu on Wed, May 8, 2002, 2:16 AM GMT+11 (15:16 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2002-05-07 15:16:06 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.033° S, 168.665° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.9 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.83 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.8 | 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 167°, dip 44°, rake 87°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 351°, dip 46°, rake 93°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 324
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.654 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8892 days ago · 158 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.498 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8890 days ago · 291 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.835 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8871 days ago · 200 km deep · 50 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000b3x2 (also filed as gcmtb050702b, gcmt20020507151606, iscgem3023176). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:16 PM UTC.