Very strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake at 10 km depth
18 Feb 06:46 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 9 minutes.
18 Feb 06:48: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 10.0 to 60.0 km (from 6.2 to 37 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 18 km (11 mi) towards SE.
... [show all] ...18 Feb 06:49: Magnitude recalculated from 5.5 to 5.7. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 60.0 to 10.0 km (from 37 to 6.2 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 12 km (7.6 mi) towards SSE.
18 Feb 06:52: Magnitude recalculated from 5.7 to 6.1. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 10.0 to 40.0 km (from 6.2 to 25 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 12 km (7.6 mi) towards SW.
18 Feb 06:55: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 40.0 to 60.0 km (from 25 to 37 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 26 km (16 mi) towards NE.
18 Feb 07:00: Magnitude recalculated from 6.1 to 6.2. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 60.0 to 63.0 km (from 37 to 39 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 8.9 km (5.5 mi) towards SSW.
18 Feb 07:03: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 63.0 to 60.0 km (from 39 to 37 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 6.8 km (4.2 mi) towards S.
18 Feb 07:05: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 60.0 to 10.0 km (from 37 to 6.2 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 7.9 km (4.9 mi) towards N.
Update Thu, 18 Feb 2021, 06:51
Significant magnitude 5.7 quake hits 140 km southwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu in the afternoon
![5.7 quake 18 Feb 5:37 pm (GMT +11)]()
5.7 quake 18 Feb 5:37 pm (GMT +11)
An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 occurred only 14 minutes ago 140 km southwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, in the afternoon on Thursday 18 February 2021 at 5:37 pm local time. 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.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) which listed the quake at magnitude 6.1.
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 140 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
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