Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake 38 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 38 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Mon, Jan 7, 2002, 4:09 AM GMT+11 (17:09 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.0 77 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecast More in Vanuatu

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.4 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Mon, Jan 7, 2002, 4:09 AM GMT+11
UTC: 2002-01-06 17:09:53 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.483° S, 168.064° 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
5.4	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.41	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.4	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 218°, dip 41°, rake -107°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 60°, dip 52°, rake -76°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used: 75

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast39 kmNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 50 in the 60 days after this one and 41 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Vanuatu earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000avyf (also filed as gcmtb010602f, gcmt20020106170953, iscgem2545307). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:44 PM UTC.