Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - Vanuatu Islands on Friday, 8 January 2021 at 05:01 (GMT) - information

Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 59 km south of Aneityum Island, Tafea Province, Vanuatu, on Friday, 8 Jan 2021 4:01 pm (GMT +11)

- Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 59 km south of Aneityum Island, Tafea Province, Vanuatu, on Friday, 8 Jan 2021 4:01 pm (GMT +11)

Strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake at 136 km depth

8 Jan 05:10 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 9 minutes.
8 Jan 05:12: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 137.0 to 136.0 km (from 85 to 85 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1 km (0.6 mi) towards W.
8 Jan 07:22: Magnitude recalculated from 6.0 to 6.1.
Date & time: 8 Jan 2021 05:01:06 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Friday, 8 Jan 2021 4:01 pm (GMT +11)
Magnitude: 6.1
Depth: 136.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 20.73°S / 169.88°E (South Pacific Ocean, Vanuatu)
Nearest volcano: Eastern Gemini Seamount (50 km / 31 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
146 km (91 mi) SSE of Isangel (pop: 1,440) --> See nearby quakes!
227 km (141 mi) ENE of Tadine (Maré, New Caledonia) (pop: 7,490) --> See nearby quakes!
273 km (169 mi) E of Wé (Lifou, New Caledonia) (pop: 10,400) --> See nearby quakes!
371 km (231 mi) SSE of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) --> See nearby quakes!
383 km (238 mi) ENE of Mont-Dore (New Caledonia) (pop: 24,700) --> See nearby quakes!
388 km (241 mi) ENE of Dumbéa (New Caledonia) (pop: 19,300) --> See nearby quakes!
394 km (245 mi) ENE of Noumea (New Caledonia) (pop: 93,100) --> See nearby quakes!
397 km (246 mi) ENE of Païta (New Caledonia) (pop: 12,600) --> See nearby quakes!
434 km (270 mi) ENE of La Foa (New Caledonia) (pop: 2,950) --> See nearby quakes!
59 km (37 mi) S of Aneityum Island (pop: 915) --> See nearby quakes!
148 km (92 mi) SSE of Tanna Island (pop: 28,800) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Overcast Clouds 27.3°C (81 F), humidity: 81%, wind: 7 m/s (13 kts) from ENE
Primary data source: GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
Estimated released energy: 8.9 x 1013 joules (24.8 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 21301 tons of TNT or 1.3 atomic bombs!) More info
Show interactive Map
[smaller] [bigger]
If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!
Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 6.1136 kmVanuatu IslandsGFZ
M 6.1120 kmVANUATUEMSC
M 6.0134 kmVanuatu IslandsBMKG
M 6.1118 km146 Km SSE of Isangel, VanuatuUSGS
M 6.0113 kmVanuatu IslandsGeoAu

User reports for this quake (7)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Contribute:
Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
Flag as inappropriate.
Mark as helpful or interesting.
Send your own user report!
nouméa new caledonia 3rd stage (389.5 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Seems longee and stronger than next experiences in Nouméa. The vibrations arrives at 4:02 pm, I had a look to my watch. | 6 users found this interesting.
397.8 km WSW of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s
394.9 km WSW of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app)
LIFOU / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
Wé Lifou / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s
Maré / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
Nouméa, avenue de la Victoire 7ème étage / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
to top

Aftershocks of the 6.1 quake South Pacific Ocean, 59 km south of Aneityum Island, Tafea Province, Vanuatu, 8 Jan 2021 4:01 pm (GMT +11)

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quakes):
So far, no aftershocks have been registered.
to top

Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900

Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 59 km south of Aneityum Island, Tafea Province, Vanuatu, on Friday, 8 Jan 2021 4:01 pm (GMT +11)

Map of earlier quakes

Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Why is there advertising on this site?

Support us - Help us upgrade our server!

We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.
Our server is reaching its limits and we need financing to increase capacity in order to deal with huge activity peaks when quakes occur. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every penny counts and every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features and in upgrading our software, please make a donation (PayPal or Online cc payment).

Planned features:
  • Weather reports
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Design upgrades
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards
  • Additional seismic data sources
  • Improved content in English
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you! With best regards from the VolcanoDiscovery team.
Copyrights: VolcanoDiscovery and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most texts and images, in particular photographs, on this website are protected by copyright. Further reproduction and use of without authorization is usually not consented. If you are not sure or need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.
Home | Travel | Destinations | Volcanoes | Photos | Earthquakes | About | Glossary | News | Contact | Privacy | About us || Français | Deutsch
Follow us: