Vanuatu earthquakes

M6.0 earthquake 77 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 77 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Tue, Jan 15, 2002, 3:47 PM GMT+11 (04:47 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

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: 6.0 (Mwc, centroid moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, Jan 15, 2002, 3:47 PM GMT+11
UTC: 2002-01-15 04:47:59 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.334° S, 167.722° 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
6.0	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.99	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.0	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 25°, dip 57°, rake 167°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 122°, dip 79°, rake 34°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used: 173

Nearest places

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

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast77 kmNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.0 and up: 27 in the 60 days after this one and 59 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 usp000awgh (also filed as gcmtc011502a, gcmt20020115044759, iscgem2708612). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:48 PM UTC.