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Moderate mag. 5.1 earthquake - Coral Sea, 78 km north of Port-Olry, Sanma Province, Vanuatu, on Sunday, 22 December 1985 at 21:21 (GMT)
Moderate magnitude 5.1 earthquake at 218 km depth
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Date & time: 22 Dec 1985 21:21:54 UTC
Magnitude: 5.1Depth: 218.1 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 14.391°S / 167.332°E
(
Coral Sea,
Vanuatu)
Nearest volcano:
Gaua (23 km / 14 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:62 km (39 mi) SSW of Sola (pop: 1,170) -->
See nearby quakes!78 km (48 mi) NNE of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) -->
See nearby quakes!127 km (79 mi) N of Luganville (pop: 13,400) -->
See nearby quakes!186 km (116 mi) N of Norsup (pop: 3,000) -->
See nearby quakes!387 km (240 mi) NNW of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) -->
See nearby quakes!440 km (274 mi) SSE of Lata (Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands) (pop: 553) -->
See nearby quakes!Primary data source:
USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 2.8 x 10
12 joules (783 megawatt hours, equivalent to 674 tons of TNT)
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
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| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| M 5.1 | 218 km | Vanuatu | USGS |
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Aftershocks
More info
Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake ruptured along a surface of approx. 13 km
2 (=5 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 6 km (4 mi).
Aftershocks typically occur during the days and weeks following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone.
The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock (check on the
map below to verify).
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