Vanuatu earthquakes

M6.1 earthquake 90 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 90 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Fri, May 28, 2010, 7:48 AM GMT+11 (20:48 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.3 118 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.1 (Mwc, centroid moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Fri, May 28, 2010, 7:48 AM GMT+11
UTC: 2010-05-27 20:48:00 UTC
Depth: 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 13.658° S, 166.745° 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
6.1	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
6.11	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.1	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary

What happened

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

no people dead or missing; no people injured; no buildings damaged or destroyed

From the USGS event page for usp000hd8v. 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: 7.0% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 1.3 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 4°, dip 45°, rake 100°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 170°, dip 46°, rake 81°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Station coverage gap: 32°
Stations used: 161

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.1 and up: 39 in the 60 days after this one and 21 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 usp000hd8v (also filed as gcmtc201005272048a, gcmt20100527204800, iscgem14759693). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:54 PM UTC.