Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.9 earthquake 74 km SSE of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 74 km SSE of Sola, Vanuatu on Thu, Nov 28, 2002, 3:43 AM GMT+11 (16:43 UTC), 33 km (21 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: 5.9 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Thu, Nov 28, 2002, 3:43 AM GMT+11
UTC: 2002-11-27 16:43:17 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 14.490° S, 167.827° E
Region: Vanuatu
Strongest shaking: V, moderate shaking
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
5.9	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.83	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.8	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary
5.57	Me, energy	Choy, USGS energy magnitude	Reviewed

Deaths and damage

From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 5665), matched to this event by time and place.

Injuries: 3
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses damaged: 100 with its tsunami and other effects

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA’s full record of this earthquake

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Three people injured, at least 100 buildings damaged, several water lines damaged or destroyed and landslides blocked many roads on Mere Lava.

From the USGS event page for usp000bjhn. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: V, moderate shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 6.4% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 1.6 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

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 144°, dip 36°, rake 65°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 354°, dip 58°, rake 107°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used: 240

Nearest places

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

Port-Vila, VanuatuPopulation 35,901. Forecast365 kmN

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 8 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 usp000bjhn (also filed as choy20021127164317, gcmtc112702f, gcmt20021127164317, iscgem6144656, atlas20021127164315). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 8:05 AM UTC.