M6.2 earthquake 37 km ENE of Isangel, Vanuatu

Monday, October 19, 1992, 12:03:30 UTC · 19.385°S, 169.593°E

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 37 km ENE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Monday, October 19, 1992, 12:03:30 UTC, at a depth of 20.6 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on October 17, 1992.

Magnitude: 6.2; Strong · mw
Depth: 21 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

30 kilotons of TNT

That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

165 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

21 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 100 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 715 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 133 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 294 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 134 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1878M7.5
Tanna Island
10 Jan 1878 · 123 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1961M7.3
Vanuatu Islands
23 Jul 1961 · 164 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 63 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers