Strong mag. 5.0 earthquake - Coral Sea, 36 km north of Pentecost Island, Penama Province, Vanuatu, on Sunday, 17 Jan 2021 2:38 pm (GMT +11) -
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Strong magnitude 5.0 earthquake at 10 km depth
17 Jan 03:58 UTC: First to report: USGS after 19 minutes.
18 Jan 17:24: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.0.
18 Jan 17:24: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.0.
Update Sun, 17 Jan 2021, 04:03
Significant magnitude 5.2 quake hits 103 km east of Luganville, Vanuatu early afternoon5.2 quake 17 Jan 2:38 pm (GMT +11)
An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 occurred only 24 minutes ago 103 km east of Luganville, Vanuatu, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Luganville, Sanma Province, Vanuatu, early afternoon on Sunday 17 January 2021 at 2:38 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake as well.
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 Luganville (pop. 13,400) located 103 km from the epicenter, Norsup (pop. 3,000) 105 km away, Lakatoro (pop. 710) 106 km away, and Port-Olry (pop. 2,000) 120 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.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Luganville, Sanma Province, Vanuatu, early afternoon on Sunday 17 January 2021 at 2:38 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake as well.
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 Luganville (pop. 13,400) located 103 km from the epicenter, Norsup (pop. 3,000) 105 km away, Lakatoro (pop. 710) 106 km away, and Port-Olry (pop. 2,000) 120 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.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 17 Jan 2021 03:38:55 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Sunday, 17 Jan 2021 2:38 pm (GMT +11)
Magnitude: 5
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 15.4291°S / 168.1157°E
(Coral Sea, Vanuatu)Nearest volcano: Aoba (31 km / 19 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
103 km (64 mi) E of Luganville (pop: 13,400) --> See nearby quakes!
105 km (65 mi) NE of Norsup (pop: 3,000) --> See nearby quakes!
120 km (75 mi) ESE of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) --> See nearby quakes!
183 km (114 mi) SSE of Sola (pop: 1,170) --> See nearby quakes!
258 km (160 mi) N of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) --> See nearby quakes!
36 km (22 mi) NNW of Pentecost Island (pop: 16,800) --> See nearby quakes!
114 km (71 mi) NE of Malakula Island (pop: 22,900) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Broken Clouds
28.8°C (84 F), humidity: 71%, wind: 4 m/s (7 kts) from ENE
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)Broken Clouds
28.8°C (84 F), humidity: 71%, wind: 4 m/s (7 kts) from ENEEstimated released energy: 2 x 1012 joules (554 megawatt hours, equivalent to 477 tons of TNT) More info
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.
| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| M 5.0 | 10 km | 102 Km E of Luganville, Vanuatu | USGS |
| M 5.2 | 10 km | VANUATU | EMSC |
| M 5.1 | 13 km | Vanuatu Islands | GeoAu |
| M 4.8 | 10 km | Vanuatu Islands | GFZ |
| M 5.1 | 10 km | Vanuatu Islands | BMKG |
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!
So far, no aftershocks have been registered.
Aftershocks
More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quakes):So far, no aftershocks have been registered.
Earlier earthquakes in the same area
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