January 2, 2002 Earthquake: Efate, Port Vila, Vanuatu Islands
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Efate, Port Vila, Vanuatu Islands on January 2, 2002 at 17:22:48 UTC, 21 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
- January 2, 2002
- Time
- 17:22:48 UTC
- Place
- Efate, Port Vila, Vanuatu Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 21 km (13 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 17.600° S, 167.856° E
- Country
- Vanuatu
The toll
- Injuries
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Several people injured, two bridges
destroyed and buildings and roads damaged on Efate.
Rockslides blocked access to the wharf at Port-Vila. A
tsunami with wave heights of 40 cm (peak-to-trough)
recorded at Port-Vila. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 17, 2024, Efate, Port Vila, Vanuatu Islands
- November 26, 1999, Pentecost, Vanuatu Islands
- June 2, 2009, Tongoa, Vanuatu Islands
- August 10, 2010, Vanuatu Islands
- November 22, 1905, Port Vila, Vanuatu
- November 24, 1905, Port Vila, Vanuatu
- July 31, 1893, Vanuatu Islands
- May 13, 1903, Vanuatu Islands
- January 24, 1927, Port Vila, Vanuatu
- November 19, 1933, Malekula, Vanuatu Islands
- February 2, 2012, Vanuatu Islands
- May 29, 2009, Tongoa, Vanuatu Islands
- December 2, 1950, Vanuatu Islands
- August 20, 2011, Vanuatu Islands
- August 20, 2011, Vanuatu Islands
More
Significant earthquakes of 2002The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2002Recent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5614.