M5.0 earthquake 23 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

Friday, September 3, 2010, 04:00:16 UTC · 17.580°S, 168.163°E

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 23 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Friday, September 3, 2010, 04:00:16 UTC, at a depth of 37.9 km (shallow). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on August 28, 2010.

Magnitude: 5.0; Moderate · mwc
Depth: 38 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 6; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 tons of TNT

That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

96 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

38 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Vila, Shefa, Vanuatu	IV · Light	5	44 km

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 75 km

USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on October 2, 2010. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,247 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 43 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 · 271 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1999M7.5
Pentecost
26 Nov 1999 · 129 km away
10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1971M7.1
Espiritu Santo, Port Vila
27 Oct 1971 · 253 km away · intensity VII
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
1965M7.6
Vanuatu Islands
11 Aug 1965 · 223 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1990M6.4
Espiritu Santo
27 Jul 1990 · 258 km away · intensity V
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 253 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers