Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - Coral Sea, 44 km east of Norsup, Malampa Province, Vanuatu, on Sunday, 10 Jan 5:48 pm (GMT +11)

Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - Coral Sea, 44 km east of Norsup, Malampa Province, Vanuatu, on Sunday, 10 Jan 2021 5:48 pm (GMT +11)

- Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - Coral Sea, 44 km east of Norsup, Malampa Province, Vanuatu, on Sunday, 10 Jan 2021 5:48 pm (GMT +11)

Strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake at 166 km depth

10 Jan 06:57 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 9 minutes.
10 Jan 06:59: Magnitude recalculated from 5.8 to 5.7. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 159.0 to 161.0 km (from 99 to 100 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.2 km (1.4 mi) towards N.
10 Jan 07:00: Magnitude recalculated from 5.7 to 5.9. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 161.0 to 162.0 km (from 100 to 101 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1.1 km (0.7 mi) towards N.
10 Jan 07:05: Magnitude recalculated from 5.9 to 6.1. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 162.0 to 166.0 km (from 101 to 103 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 5.5 km (3.4 mi) towards E.
Update Sun, 10 Jan 2021, 07:03
Magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes near Norsup, Malampa Province, Vanuatu
5.9 quake 10 Jan 5:48 pm (GMT +11)
5.9 quake 10 Jan 5:48 pm (GMT +11)
A intermediate to deep magnitude 5.9 earthquake was reported in the afternoon near Norsup, Malampa Province, Vanuatu.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake hit on Sunday 10 January 2021 at 5:48 pm local time at an intermediate to considerable depth of 162 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 5.7 earthquake.
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 Lakatoro (pop. 710) located 37 km from the epicenter, Norsup (pop. 3,000) 39 km away, and Luganville (pop. 13,400) 89 km away.
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.
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Earthquake data:

Date & time: 10 Jan 2021 06:48:20 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Sunday, 10 Jan 2021 5:48 pm (GMT +11)
Magnitude: 6.1
Depth: 166.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 16.08°S / 167.81°E (Coral Sea, Vanuatu)
Nearest volcano: Ambrym (38 km / 24 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
42 km (26 mi) E of Lakatoro (pop: 705) --> See nearby quakes!
44 km (27 mi) E of Norsup (pop: 3,000) --> See nearby quakes!
93 km (58 mi) SE of Luganville (pop: 13,400) --> See nearby quakes!
140 km (87 mi) SE of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) --> See nearby quakes!
192 km (119 mi) NNW of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) --> See nearby quakes!
247 km (153 mi) S of Sola (pop: 1,170) --> See nearby quakes!
415 km (258 mi) NNW of Isangel (pop: 1,440) --> See nearby quakes!
39 km (24 mi) NE of Malakula Island (pop: 22,900) --> See nearby quakes!
38 km (24 mi) WNW of Ambrym Island (pop: 7,280) --> See nearby quakes!
413 km (257 mi) NNW of Tanna Island (pop: 28,800) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Overcast Clouds 29.6°C (85 F), humidity: 75%, wind: 4 m/s (7 kts) from NNW
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
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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!
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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 6.1166 kmVanuatu IslandsGFZ
M 6.1162 kmVANUATUEMSC
M 6.1160 km47 Km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuUSGS
M 6.0161 kmVanuatu IslandsGeoAu
M 6.0162 kmVanuatu IslandsBMKG

User reports for this quake (3)

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!
Brawley, CA. / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Happening lately around this time. Bed time. | 4 users found this interesting.
Birmingham UK (15860.5 km N of epicenter) [Map] / not felt : I didn’t feel a thing | One user found this interesting.
Port-Vila (187 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
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Aftershocks of the 6.1 quake Coral Sea, 44 km east of Norsup, Malampa Province, Vanuatu, 10 Jan 2021 5:48 pm (GMT +11)

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quakes):
  • 11 Jan 2021 21:30 UTC
    | M 4.7 |
    150.6 km (93.6 mi) depth
    |
    57 km (36 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details

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Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900

Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - Coral Sea, 44 km east of Norsup, Malampa Province, Vanuatu, on Sunday, 10 Jan 2021 5:48 pm (GMT +11)
    Hint: Click on Date/Time to show latest first
  • Date / time UTC
    | Mag |
    Depth
    |
    Age
    |
    Distance
    | Details
  • 20 May 1965 00:40
    | 7.7 |
    120km / 75mi
    |
    56 years ago
    |
    138km / 86mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 11 Aug 1965 22:31
    | 7.6 |
    30km / 19mi
    |
    55 years ago
    |
    81km / 50mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 09 Jul 1964 16:39
    | 7.6 |
    130km / 81mi
    |
    57 years ago
    |
    63km / 39mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 26 Nov 1999 13:21
    | 7.5 |
    33km / 21mi
    |
    21 years ago
    |
    58km / 36mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 28 Dec 1973 13:41
    | 7.5 |
    26km / 16mi
    |
    47 years ago
    |
    222km / 138mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 13 Aug 1965 12:40
    | 7.4 |
    25km / 16mi
    |
    55 years ago
    |
    94km / 58mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 10 Aug 2010 05:23
    | 7.3 |
    25km / 16mi
    |
    10 years ago
    |
    165km / 102mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 09 Nov 1910 06:02
    | 7.3 |
    20km / 12.4mi
    |
    110 years ago
    |
    100km / 62mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 01 Aug 2007 17:08
    | 7.2 |
    120km / 75mi
    |
    13 years ago
    |
    56km / 35mi
    | Vanuatu
  • 02 Jan 2002 17:22
    | 7.2 |
    21km / 13mi
    |
    19 years ago
    |
    169km / 105mi
    | Vanuatu
    • Show all

Map of earlier quakes

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