Reviewed by USGSVanuatu27y ago
M4.5 earthquake 36 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
Thursday, December 2, 1999, 08:26:09 UTC · 17.772°S, 167.976°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 36 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Thursday, December 2, 1999, 08:26:09 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on November 27, 1999.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
71 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 904 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 251 km S of this epicenter
- 7.999 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuDecember 2, 1950 · 75 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 262 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 176 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.631 km S of Luganville, VanuatuAugust 11, 1965 · 235 km N of this epicenter
- 7.592 km ESE of Lakatoro, VanuatuNovember 26, 1999 · 152 km N of this epicenter
- 7.447 km WSW of Norsup, VanuatuNovember 9, 1910 · 196 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.443 km W of Norsup, VanuatuAugust 13, 1965 · 211 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 34 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 37 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 254 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1999M7.5
Pentecost
26 Nov 1999 · 152 km away
10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1971M7.1
Espiritu Santo, Port Vila
27 Oct 1971 · 266 km away · intensity VII
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1965M7.6
Vanuatu Islands
11 Aug 1965 · 234 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1990M6.4
Espiritu Santo
27 Jul 1990 · 274 km away · intensity V
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 266 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.