Strong mag. 6.5 earthquake - Vanuatu on Wednesday, 30 September 1987 at 01:39 (GMT)

Strong mag. 6.5 earthquake - Vanuatu on Wednesday, 30 September 1987 at 01:39 (GMT)

Strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake at 51 km depth

Date & time: 30 Sep 1987 01:39:28 UTC
Magnitude: 6.5
Depth: 51.4 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 18.162°S / 167.865°E (Vanuatu)
Nearest volcano: Fatmalapa (85 km / 53 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
67 km (42 mi) SW of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) --> See nearby quakes!
214 km (133 mi) NW of Isangel (pop: 1,440) --> See nearby quakes!
238 km (148 mi) SSE of Norsup (pop: 3,000) --> See nearby quakes!
303 km (188 mi) SSE of Luganville (pop: 13,400) --> See nearby quakes!
313 km (194 mi) N of Wé (Lifou, New Caledonia) (pop: 10,400) --> See nearby quakes!
357 km (222 mi) SSE of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) --> See nearby quakes!
377 km (234 mi) N of Tadine (Maré, New Caledonia) (pop: 7,490) --> See nearby quakes!
407 km (253 mi) NE of Poindimié (New Caledonia) (pop: 4,890) --> See nearby quakes!
468 km (291 mi) NNE of Dumbéa (New Caledonia) (pop: 19,300) --> See nearby quakes!
469 km (291 mi) NNE of Païta (New Caledonia) (pop: 12,600) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 3.5 x 1014 joules (98.6 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 84802 tons of TNT or 5.3 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 6.551 kmVanuatuUSGS
Note: for quakes of 2012 and earlier, our database often contains only records from USGS.

User reports for this quake

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it be the first to report it!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
to top

Aftershocks of the 6.5 quake Vanuatu 30 September 1987 01:39 GMT

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (23 quakes):
  • 26 Mar 1988 09:42 UTC
    | M 5.1 |
    17.4 km (10.8 mi) depth
    |
    13 km (8 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 05 Mar 1988 18:24 UTC
    | M 4.6 |
    37.9 km (23.5 mi) depth
    |
    14 km (8 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 05 Mar 1988 12:06 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    47.7 km (29.6 mi) depth
    |
    40 km (25 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 Mar 1988 15:35 UTC
    | M 4.9 |
    151.4 km (94.1 mi) depth
    |
    64 km (40 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 16 Feb 1988 21:42 UTC
    | M 5.1 |
    38.9 km (24.2 mi) depth
    |
    58 km (36 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 07 Feb 1988 05:20 UTC
    | M 4.9 |
    49.4 km (30.7 mi) depth
    |
    64 km (40 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 07 Feb 1988 04:05 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    22.8 km (14.2 mi) depth
    |
    67 km (42 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 07 Feb 1988 03:33 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    10 km (6.2 mi) depth
    |
    58 km (36 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 21 Jan 1988 09:31 UTC
    | M 4.6 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    28 km (17 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 21 Jan 1988 08:22 UTC
    | M 6.2 |
    44.2 km (27.5 mi) depth
    |
    29 km (18 mi) distance
    | USGS | Strong mag. 6.2 earthquake - Vanuatu on Thursday, 21 January 1988 at 08:22 (GMT)
  • 11 Jan 1988 13:33 UTC
    | M 4.5 |
    21.6 km (13.4 mi) depth
    |
    42 km (26 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 10 Jan 1988 22:17 UTC
    | M 4.8 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    25 km (15 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 22 Dec 1987 05:36 UTC
    | M 4.3 |
    17.9 km (11.1 mi) depth
    |
    17 km (11 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 02 Dec 1987 02:38 UTC
    | M 4.9 |
    43.3 km (26.9 mi) depth
    |
    65 km (41 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 08 Nov 1987 06:06 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    23 km (14.3 mi) depth
    |
    21 km (13 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 24 Oct 1987 20:44 UTC
    | M 4.8 |
    33.9 km (21.1 mi) depth
    |
    82 km (51 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
    • Show all

to top

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Strong mag. 6.5 earthquake - Vanuatu on Wednesday, 30 September 1987 at 01:39 (GMT)
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.