M5.2 earthquake 44 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 44 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Sat, Feb 16, 2002, 7:05 PM GMT+11 (08:05 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2002-02-16 08:05:45 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.897° S, 167.929° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.17 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.2 | 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 350°, dip 36°, rake 94°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 165°, dip 55°, rake 87°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 62
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 13 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.451 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8986 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away
- 5.247 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8979 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.694 km S of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8976 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.159 km ESE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8973 days ago · 100 km deep · 92 km away
- 4.347 km SSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8971 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.136 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8959 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
- 4.627 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8956 days ago · 10 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.776 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8940 days ago · 10 km deep · 34 km away
Before
- 4.684 km SSE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8998 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.4107 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9003 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.442 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9007 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.730 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9015 days ago · 10 km deep · 23 km away
- 4.185 km SW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9018 days ago · 10 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.393 km SW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9018 days ago · 10 km deep · 51 km away
- 3.952 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9019 days ago · 10 km deep · 50 km away
- 3.956 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9023 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
- 3.945 km NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9023 days ago · 10 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.147 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9024 days ago · 10 km deep · 42 km away
- 4.268 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9025 days ago · 10 km deep · 35 km away
- 5.465 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9025 days ago · 10 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.772 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9025 days ago · 10 km deep · 56 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ayjs (also filed as gcmtb021602a, gcmt20020216080545, iscgem2900105). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:12 AM UTC.