Significant magnitude 5.0 earthquake 60 km south of Port Vila, Vanuatu

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred early morning on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021, at 3:51 am local time near Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, as reported by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a moderately shallow depth of 40 km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.

Weak shaking might have been felt in Port Vila (pop. 35,900) located 60 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Dec 8, 2021 3:51 am (GMT +11) local time (7 Dec 2021 16:51 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.0
Depth: 40.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 18.27°S / 168.26°E (Coral Sea, Vanuatu)
Primary data source: EMSC