M5.5 earthquake 19 km ESE of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 19 km ESE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Sat, Nov 2, 2002, 12:42 AM GMT+11 (13:42 UTC), 300 km (186 mi) below the surface.
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
- 2002-11-01 13:42:17 UTC
- Depth
- 300.0 km (186.4 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 19.615° S, 169.453° 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 |
| 5.46 | 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
- Strike-slip
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 133°, dip 61°, rake -163°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 34°, dip 75°, rake -30°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 194
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.778 km NNE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8728 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.562 km NNE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8728 days ago · 300 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.453 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8714 days ago · 159 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.950 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8704 days ago · 266 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.4104 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8691 days ago · 155 km deep · 92 km away
- 3.929 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8687 days ago · 277 km deep · 40 km away
- 4.730 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 8679 days ago · 186 km deep · 49 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000bftf (also filed as gcmtb110102d, gcmt20021101134217, iscgem6121272). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC.