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Strong mag. 5.2 earthquake - Coral Sea, 98 km northeast of Santo, Luganville, Sanma Province, Vanuatu, on 6 May 2:35 am (GMT +11)

Strong magnitude 5.2 earthquake at 10 km depth

5 May 15:49 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 14 minutes.

Update Wed, 5 May 2021, 15:54

Significant earthquake of magnitude 5.2 just reported 98 km northeast of Luganville, Vanuatu

5.2 quake 6 May 2:35 am (GMT +11)

An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 occurred only 18 minutes ago 98 km northeast of Luganville, Vanuatu, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter near Luganville, Sanma Province, Vanuatu, early morning on Thursday 6 May 2021 at 2:35 am 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 United States Geological Survey which listed the quake at magnitude 5.1. Other agencies reporting the same quake include France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) at magnitude 5.0, and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.2.
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-Olry (pop. 2,000) located 98 km from the epicenter, Luganville (pop. 13,400) 98 km away, Norsup (pop. 3,000) 122 km away, and Lakatoro (pop. 710) 125 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.

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Earthquake details

Date & time	May 5, 2021 15:35:47 UTC
Local time at epicenter	6 May 2:35 am (GMT +11)
Status	Confirmed
Magnitude	5.2
Depth	10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	15.12°S / 167.98°E (Coral Sea, Vanuatu)
Antipode	15.12°N / 12.02°W
Shaking intensity	Light shaking
Felt	3 reports
Primary data source	GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
Nearest volcano	Aoba (35 km / 22 mi)
Nearby towns and cities	98 km (61 mi) E of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 98 km (61 mi) ENE of Santo (Luganville) (pop: 13,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 122 km (76 mi) NNE of Norsup (pop: 3,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 146 km (91 mi) SSE of Sola (pop: 1,170) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 293 km (182 mi) N of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 17 km (11 mi) WNW of Maewo Island (pop: 3,570) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 138 km (85 mi) NNE of Malakula Island (pop: 22,900) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Clear Sky 27.9°C (82 F), humidity: 72%, wind: 2 m/s (3 kts) from W
Estimated seismic energy released	4 x 10¹² joules (1.11 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 951 tons of TNT) \| about seismic energy

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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.	Depth	Location	Source
5.2	10 km	Vanuatu Islands	GFZ
5.1	2 km	VANUATU	EMSC
5.0	10 km	Near Nouméa, Vanuatu	RENASS
5.1	10 km	103 Km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu	USGS
5.1	10 km	Vanuatu Islands	GeoAu

Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Vanuatu

User reports for this quake (3)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Paranaque, Manila, Philippines / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s

Hayward, ca USA / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Los Angeles / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s

Aftershocks

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Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)

So far, no aftershocks have been registered.

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