M5.6 earthquake 54 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 54 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu on Fri, May 31, 2002, 1:41 AM GMT+11 (14:41 UTC), 158 km (98 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Mwb, body-wave moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2002-05-30 14:41:40 UTC
- Depth
- 157.5 km (97.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 19.136° S, 168.995° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.52 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.5 | 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 359°, dip 27°, rake 112°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 154°, dip 65°, rake 79°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 238
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.498 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8891 days ago · 291 km deep · 69 km away
- 5.452 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8872 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
- 5.452 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8872 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.844 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8872 days ago · 33 km deep · 69 km away
- 5.550 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8872 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
- 4.835 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8872 days ago · 200 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.721 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8862 days ago · 115 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.156 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8841 days ago · 228 km deep · 42 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000b587 (also filed as gcmtb053002c, gcmt20020530144140, iscgem3162036). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 5:37 AM UTC.