Contact | RSS | EN | DE | EL | ES | FR | IT | RU

Strong mag. 6.0 earthquake - Coral Sea, 55 km northwest of Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, on Tuesday, Apr 5, 2022 at 3:06 am (GMT +11) -

Strong mag. 6.0 earthquake - Coral Sea, 55 km northwest of Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, on Tuesday, Apr 5, 2022 at 3:06 am (GMT +11) Strong mag. 6.0 earthquake - Coral Sea, 55 km northwest of Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, on Tuesday, Apr 5, 2022 at 3:06 am (GMT +11)

Strong magnitude 6.0 earthquake at 24 km depth

4 Apr 16:14 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 8 minutes.
4 Apr 16:17: Epicenter location corrected by 6.1 km (3.8 mi) towards NW.
4 Apr 16:26: Now using data updates from USGS
4 Apr 18:44: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 33.1 to 23.6 km (from 21 to 14.7 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1.3 km (0.8 mi) towards SSW.
Update Mon, 4 Apr 2022, 16:21

Significant magnitude 5.9 quake hits 58 km northwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu early morning

5.9 quake 5 Apr 3:06 am (GMT +11)
5.9 quake 5 Apr 3:06 am (GMT +11)
The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported a magnitude 5.9 quake in Vanuatu near Port Vila, Shefa Province, only 14 minutes ago. The earthquake hit early morning on Tuesday, April 5th, 2022, at 3:06 am local time at a shallow depth of 10 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.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake which listed the quake at magnitude 5.9 as well. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 6.0.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Port Vila (pop. 35,900) located 58 km from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
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.

Download the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app and get one of the fastest seismic alerts online: Android | iOS

Earthquake details

Date & timeApr 4, 2022 16:06:56 UTC -
Local time at epicenterTuesday, Apr 5, 2022 at 3:06 am (GMT +11)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude6
Depth23.6 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude17.4861°S / 167.8682°E (Coral Sea, Vanuatu)
Antipode17.486°N / 12.132°W
Shaking intensityModerate shaking
Felt13 reports
Primary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcanoNorth Vate (51 km / 32 mi)
Nearby towns and cities55 km (34 mi) WNW of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
166 km (103 mi) SSE of Norsup (pop: 3,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
231 km (144 mi) SSE of Santo (Luganville) (pop: 13,400) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
273 km (170 mi) NW of Isangel (pop: 1,440) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
285 km (177 mi) SSE of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
379 km (236 mi) NNE of Fayaoué (New Caledonia) (pop: 4,410) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
387 km (240 mi) N of Wé (Lifou, New Caledonia) (pop: 10,400) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
403 km (250 mi) S of Sola (pop: 1,170) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
467 km (290 mi) NE of Poindimié (New Caledonia) (pop: 4,890) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
507 km (315 mi) NE of Koné (New Caledonia) (pop: 4,570) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
121 km (75 mi) SSW of Paama Island (pop: 1,630) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
141 km (87 mi) SSE of Malakula Island (pop: 22,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
278 km (173 mi) NW of Tanna Island (pop: 28,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeOvercast Clouds 28.4°C (83 F), humidity: 77%, wind: 7 m/s (13 kts) from NE
Estimated seismic energy released6.3 x 1013 joules (17.5 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 15080 tons of TNT or 0.9 atomic bombs!) | about seismic energy
Show interactive Map
[smaller] [bigger]

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.
Mag.DepthLocationSource
6.024 km54 Km WNW of Port-Vila, VanuatuUSGS
6.031 kmVANUATUEMSC
6.024 kmVanuatu IslandsRaspberryShake
5.710 kmVanuatu: Near NouméaRENASS
6.035 kmVanuatu IslandsGFZ
6.020 kmVanuatu Islands [Sea: Vanuatu]INGV
5.844 kmVanuatu IslandsGeoAu

Seismograms

Seismic station: Tucson, Arizona (TUC/IU network) | Distance from quake: 10258 km / 6374 mi | Show on map | Station Info
Seismic station Tucson, Arizona: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)
Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool
Show more

User reports for this quake (14)

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!
Translate
Bellevue Park, Port Vila / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : The first earthquake came all of a sudden without warning. Normally the dogs would bark and you feel the earthquake. The second earthquake came about 5 mins, but this time you can hear the rumble, however it was very light shaking. | 5 users found this interesting.  
Port vila, Vanuatu (55.9 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I was asleep but it woke me up cause it was abit strongwave. And I know people who are moving can feel it | One user found this interesting.  
Coral Sea (58.9 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 minutes : In bed .. woken by noise… shaking.. rattling ..several minutes of it | 2 users found this interesting.  
Port vila (53.9 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Woke me up | One user found this interesting. (reported through our app)  
Sydney / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : I was asleep it woke me up. Around 2.20am. | One user found this interesting.  
Eton reef, Efate / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : The shake woke me, as it was moving the bed. | One user found this interesting.  
Port Vila / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s : It's Terrifying to be waken up in the middle of the night by an earthquake | One user found this interesting.  
Port Vila, Shefa (45.5 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Woke us up (reported through our app)  
Port Vila, Shefa (55 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s
Lautoka,Fiji Islands / not felt
Port Vila / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s
Port Vila / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 15-20 s
Port vila / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s
Port Vila / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : strong shaking (reported through our app)  

Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (6 quakes)

Date and timeMag
Depth
LocationDetails
Sep 16, 2022 11:16
27 weeks ago
4.6

10 km
Coral Sea, 89 km NW of Port Vila, Shefa Province, VanuatuMore
Jun 20, 2022 19:09
40 weeks ago
5.4

10 km
Coral Sea, 105 km W of Port Vila, Shefa Province, VanuatuMore
May 23, 2022 19:26
44 weeks ago
5.6

10 km
Coral Sea, 110 km NW of Port Vila, Shefa Province, VanuatuMore
May 10, 2022 13:18
46 weeks ago - felt
5.6

10 km
Coral Sea, 94 km NW of Port Vila, Shefa Province, VanuatuMore
May 5, 2022 20:15
46 weeks ago - felt
5.6

20 km
Coral Sea, 79 km NW of Port Vila, Shefa Province, VanuatuMore
Apr 23, 2022 11:59
48 weeks ago
4.5

50 km
Coral Sea, 13 km SW of Port Vila, Shefa Province, VanuatuMore

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Try our free app!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Android | iOS version

Support us - Help us upgrade our services!

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.
We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please make a donation (PayPal or Online credit card payment).

Planned features:
  • Improved multilanguage support
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Design upgrade
  • Detailed quake stats
  • Additional seismic data sources
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you!
Sources: VolcanoDiscovery / VolcanoAdventures and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most text and images on our websites are owned by us. Re-use is generally not permitted without authorization. Contact us for licensing rights.
Volcanoes & Earthquakes
VolcanoDiscovery Home
Volcanoes | Earthquakes | Photos | Volcano News | App
Adventure & Study Travel
Tours to Volcanoes and Volcanic Areas: walking tours, photo tours, study tours
Tours & Dates | FAQ | About us
Get our newsletter!
Company info
Contact | Legal info | Terms & conditions
Follow us
Follow us on facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Visit our Youtube channel
EN | DE | EL | ES | FR | IT | RU
VolcanoDiscovery GmbH, Germany, Reg. nr.: HRB 103744, EU Tax Id: DE 310 395 322 owned and created by
Dr. Tom Pfeiffer, volcanologist, volcano photographer, tour organizer member of
IAVCEI
Volcanological Society
Ecotourism Greece
Insured by R+V
VolcanoDiscovery © 2004- All Rights Reserved | Privacy - cookie settings