M5.2 earthquake 47 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 47 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Mon, Mar 4, 2002, 5:53 PM GMT+11 (06:53 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
- 2002-03-04 06:53:57 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.432° S, 168.000° 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 |
| 5.19 | 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
- Strike-slip
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 93°, dip 72°, rake -7°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 185°, dip 84°, rake -162°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 68
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.347 km SSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8971 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.136 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8959 days ago · 33 km deep · 28 km away
- 4.627 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8956 days ago · 10 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.776 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8940 days ago · 10 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.850 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8932 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
Before
- 4.451 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8986 days ago · 10 km deep · 5 km away
- 5.244 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 8995 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.4107 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9003 days ago · 33 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.6101 km NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9003 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.442 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 9007 days ago · 33 km deep · 19 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000azk6 (also filed as gcmtb030402a, gcmt20020304065357, iscgem2905049). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:45 AM UTC.