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

Moderate mag. 4.9 earthquake - Coral Sea, 49 km south of Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 at 3:51 am (GMT +11)

Moderate mag. 4.9 earthquake - Coral Sea, 49 km south of Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 at 3:51 am (GMT +11) Moderate mag. 4.9 earthquake - Coral Sea, 49 km south of Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2021 at 3:51 am (GMT +11)

Moderate magnitude 4.9 earthquake at 38 km depth

7 Dec 16:58 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 6 minutes.
7 Dec 17:14: Now using data updates from EMSC
... [show all] ...
13 Dec 21:52: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 35.0 to 38.4 km (from 22 to 24 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 19 km (12 mi) towards E.
Update Tue, 7 Dec 2021, 17:18

Significant magnitude 5.0 earthquake 60 km south of Port Vila, Vanuatu

5.0 quake 8 Dec 3:51 am (GMT +11)
5.0 quake 8 Dec 3:51 am (GMT +11)
An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred early morning on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021, at 3:51 am local time near Port Vila, Shefa Province, Vanuatu, as reported by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a moderately shallow depth of 40 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.
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 Vila (pop. 35,900) located 60 km from the epicenter.
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 & timeDec 7, 2021 16:51:34 UTC
Local time at epicenterWednesday, Dec 8, 2021 at 3:51 am (GMT +11)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude4.9
Depth38.4 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude18.157°S / 168.1676°E (Coral Sea, Vanuatu)
Antipode18.157°N / 11.832°W
Shaking intensityLight shaking
Felt8 reports
Primary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcanoNorth Vate (79 km / 49 mi)
Nearby towns and cities49 km (31 mi) SSW of Port Vila (pop: 35,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
194 km (120 mi) NW of Isangel (pop: 1,440) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
247 km (153 mi) SSE of Norsup (pop: 3,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
312 km (194 mi) SSE of Santo (Luganville) (pop: 13,400) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
321 km (200 mi) NNE of Wé (Lifou, New Caledonia) (pop: 10,400) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
326 km (203 mi) NNE of Fayaoué (New Caledonia) (pop: 4,410) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
366 km (227 mi) SSE of Port-Olry (pop: 1,950) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
378 km (235 mi) N of Tadine (Maré, New Caledonia) (pop: 7,490) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
428 km (266 mi) NE of Poindimié (New Caledonia) (pop: 4,890) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
471 km (293 mi) NE of Bourail (New Caledonia) (pop: 4,830) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
189 km (117 mi) S of Paama Island (pop: 1,630) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
199 km (124 mi) NW of Tanna Island (pop: 28,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeFew Clouds 23.1°C (74 F), humidity: 81%, wind: 6 m/s (12 kts) from E
Estimated seismic energy released1.4 x 1012 joules (392 megawatt hours, equivalent to 338 tons of TNT) | 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
4.938 km56 Km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuUSGS
4.940 kmVANUATUEMSC
4.935 kmVanuatu IslandsRaspberryShake
5.040 kmVanuatu IslandsGeoAu
4.934 kmVanuatu IslandsGFZ
5.310 kmVanuatu: Near NouméaRENASS

User reports for this quake (8)

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
In bed / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Could hear it coming as it woke me prior to the main horizontal shake with a couple of twitches afterwards  
Independence Park Area, Port Vila / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Light shaking...we live on the 1st floor of an apartment. It was clearly felt by all my family members who woke up a few seconds into the shaking...our neighbours also woke up..  
near Port Vila, Shefa (45.2 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Loud noise and then quake woke me up  
Port Vila (47.5 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s
Vanuatu (49.7 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
Port Vila, Shefa (53.9 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s (reported through our app)
Port Vila, Shefa (52.8 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 20-30 s (reported through our app)
Havannah, PortVila / Weak shaking (MMI III)

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!
Stop Russia's Agression - Support Ukraine
Significant parts of this website use brilliant open-source software developed by Ukrainians. Russia's unprovoked war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and the beautiful country of Ukraine is being destroyed. We cannot be silent even if the topic of this website has nothing to do with politics.
If you like to support Ukraine from abroad:
Ukrainians recommend the Come Back Alive charity. For other options, see StandWithUkraine.
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