May 12, 1980 Earthquake: Vanuatu Islands
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Vanuatu Islands on May 12, 1980 at 16:37:34 UTC, 20 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- May 12, 1980
- Time
- 16:37:34 UTC
- Place
- Vanuatu Islands
- Magnitude
- 6.1 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Intensity
- VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 14.464° S, 167.902° E
- Country
- Vanuatu
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.18 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #13893 Roger, J., and Pelletier, B. (2024). A brief history of tsunamis in the Vanuatu Arc. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 24(10), 3461-3478, DOI: 10.5194/nhess-24-3461-2024
- #13456 U.S. Geological Survey (2017 to present). Earthquake Hazards Program, Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) Comprehensive Catalog of Earthquake Events and Products.
- #13894 Louat, R. and Baldassari, C. (1989). Chronologie des seismes et des tsunamis ressentis dans la region Vanuatu Nouvelle-Caledonie (1729–1989), ORSTOM, Noumea, Nouvelle-Caledonie, Sciences de la Terre, Geologie Geophysique, Rapport Scientifique et Technique, no. 1, 46 pp.,
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 27, 1971, Espiritu Santo, Port Vila, Vanuatu Islands
- November 27, 2002, Mere Lava Island, Vanuatu Islands
- July 6, 1987, Vanuatu Islands
- November 22, 2023, Maewo, Vanuatu Islands
- July 27, 1990, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu Islands
- April 3, 2016, Vanuatu Islands
- August 1, 2007, Luganville, Vanuatu Islands
- December 29, 1973, Luganville, Lamap, Vanuatu Islands
- July 8, 1909, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu Islands
- December 28, 1973, Espiritu Santo, Luganille, Vanuatu Islands
- August 1892, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu Islands
- March 19, 1905, Malo Pass, Vanuatu
- August 11, 1970, Solomon Islands
- December 21, 1985, Vanuatu Islands
- November 10, 1910, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu Islands
More
Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 10782. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp0001764, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.