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M5.6 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands

UTC time: 2025-08-22 12:53:02 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

Magnitude
M5.6
Depth
304.0 km
Source
GFZ

Vanuatu Islands

Map

M5.6 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands · 2025-08-22 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.6 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands · 2025-08-22 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On August 22, 2025 at 12:53 UTC, a magnitude M5.6 earthquake occurred near Vanuatu Islands. The deep hypocenter at about 304 km dampens the shaking felt at the surface. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The event was recorded by GFZ.

Details

ID
26598cd79c474fca8f4f83e0b47487e4f02db1bf
Magnitude
M5.6
Depth
304.0 km
UTC time
2025-08-22 12:53:02 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-17.49000, 168.90000
Temperature
24.5°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 304 km (Deep) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 304 km
Deep
304 km
Why depth matters

Deep quakes are felt over very large areas but rarely cause surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Port Vila67.9 kmSW35'901

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Nguna-Emau
    Distance: 58 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 589 m ·Vanuatu
  • Kuwae
    Distance: 84 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: -2 m ·Last eruption: 1974 ·Vanuatu
  • East Epi
    Distance: 105 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 833 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Vanuatu
  • Lopevi
    Distance: 124 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'413 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Vanuatu
  • Traitor's Head
    Distance: 145 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 817 m ·Last eruption: 1881 ·Vanuatu
  • Ambrym Activity reported
    Distance: 161 km ·Shield(pyroclastic) ·Elevation: 1'334 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Vanuatu

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Bauerfield International AirportVanuatu · VLI · NVVV
    65.7 kmStraight-line distance
  • Tongoa AirportVanuatu · TGH · NVST
    76.2 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

No unambiguous area assignment

Context for this earthquake

This event has no unambiguous country assignment in the analysed catalogue. It is therefore not assigned to a regional profile.

Earthquake overview

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#5
Earlier events M≥469
Earlier events M≥524
Compared since2025-01-01

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M5.92025-05-11 11:22:21 UTC68.7 kmVANUATU M5.92025-02-10 00:09:43 UTC119.7 km65 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.92025-02-10 00:09:42 UTC108.6 km53 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.72025-05-11 11:22:19 UTC96.0 kmVanuatu Islands M5.62025-08-22 12:52:56 UTC24.4 kmVanuatu Islands [Sea: Vanuatu]

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
576
Country (24h)
—
—
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No recent events available.

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