M5.5 earthquake 50 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 50 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Thu, Jun 20, 2002, 10:54 AM GMT+11 (23:54 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 26 km W 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
- 5.5 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2002-06-19 23:54:11 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.278° S, 169.674° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.45 | 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
- Normal
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 105°, dip 42°, rake -111°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 312°, dip 52°, rake -72°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 87
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.835 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8872 days ago · 200 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.721 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8863 days ago · 115 km deep · 62 km away
- 4.156 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8841 days ago · 228 km deep · 40 km away
- 6.026 km W of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8820 days ago · 112 km deep · 72 km away
- 5.124 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8818 days ago · 226 km deep · 60 km away
Before
- 4.844 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8873 days ago · 33 km deep · 6 km away
- 5.452 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8873 days ago · 33 km deep · 9 km away
- 5.452 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8873 days ago · 33 km deep · 4 km away
- 4.498 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8891 days ago · 291 km deep · 74 km away
- 5.654 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8893 days ago · 158 km deep · 73 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000b6hc (also filed as gcmtb061902g, gcmt20020619235411, iscgem3191569). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:40 PM UTC.