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M5.3 Earthquake near 24 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

UTC time: 2025-01-26 06:13:38 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
M5.3
Depth
47.2 km
Source
USGS

24 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

Map

M5.3 Earthquake near 24 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 2025-01-26 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.3 Earthquake near 24 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 2025-01-26 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.3 earthquake was recorded near 24 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on January 26, 2025 at 06:13 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 47 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The event was recorded by USGS.

Details

ID
32f6aa84205612a7c732d287d543a96e77f77335
Magnitude
M5.3
Depth
47.2 km
UTC time
2025-01-26 06:13:38 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-17.70010, 168.08720

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 47.2 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 47.2 km
Shallow
47.2 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

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

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Port Vila24.3 kmE35'901

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Nguna-Emau
    Distance: 39 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 589 m ·Vanuatu
  • Kuwae
    Distance: 107 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: -2 m ·Last eruption: 1974 ·Vanuatu
  • East Epi
    Distance: 118 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 833 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Vanuatu
  • Lopevi
    Distance: 135 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'413 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Vanuatu
  • Ambrym Activity reported
    Distance: 161 km ·Shield(pyroclastic) ·Elevation: 1'334 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Vanuatu
  • Traitor's Head
    Distance: 169 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 817 m ·Last eruption: 1881 ·Vanuatu

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Bauerfield International AirportVanuatu · VLI · NVVV
    24.7 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

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours1
First 24 hours1
First 72 hours2
Strongest subsequent eventM5.9
M4.22025-01-26 07:06:43 UTC110.9 km94 km SSE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.12025-01-27 06:55:03 UTC4.2 km24 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.12025-02-09 10:07:56 UTC68.2 km92 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.92025-02-10 00:09:42 UTC31.5 km53 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.92025-02-10 00:09:43 UTC42.8 km65 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.32025-02-10 00:13:44 UTC34.7 km57 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.92025-02-10 00:32:35 UTC41.4 km64 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.12025-02-10 01:24:20 UTC40.6 km62 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.22025-02-10 02:16:25 UTC40.1 km62 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.52025-02-10 03:55:06 UTC29.6 km51 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.52025-02-10 04:24:25 UTC36.5 km58 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.72025-02-10 05:48:37 UTC37.4 km59 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

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#1
Earlier events M≥415
Earlier events M≥53
Compared since2025-01-01

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

Strongest earlier events

M5.02025-01-15 07:32:20 UTC36.4 km39 km NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.02025-01-09 02:43:58 UTC80.6 km93 km SW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M5.02025-01-06 21:20:45 UTC27.9 km43 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.92025-01-05 05:02:13 UTC7.1 km23 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu M4.82025-01-01 04:37:23 UTC11.1 kmMangaliliu

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
579
Country (24h)
—
—
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