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M5.0 Earthquake near 42 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu

UTC time: 2026-03-30 09:02:32 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
M5.0
Depth
149.0 km
Source
USGS

42 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu

Map

M5.0 Earthquake near 42 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 2026-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.0 Earthquake near 42 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 2026-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.0 earthquake was recorded near 42 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu on March 30, 2026 at 09:02 UTC. At around 149 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The data is provided by USGS and cross-checked across seismological networks.

Details

ID
44f0cda11c836b419ed8d95ffc169899b642911e
Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
149.0 km
UTC time
2026-03-30 09:02:32 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-15.36630, 167.52290
Temperature
29.9°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 149 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 149 km
Intermediate
149 km
Why depth matters

Intermediate-depth quakes are felt across a wider area but usually cause less surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

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

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Port Vila276.7 kmS35'901

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Ambae Activity reported
    Distance: 34 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 1'496 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Vanuatu
  • Ambrym Activity reported
    Distance: 117 km ·Shield(pyroclastic) ·Elevation: 1'334 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Vanuatu
  • Gaua
    Distance: 121 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 729 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Vanuatu
  • Lopevi
    Distance: 154 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'413 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Vanuatu
  • East Epi
    Distance: 173 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 833 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Vanuatu
  • Suretamatai
    Distance: 174 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 921 m ·Last eruption: 1966 ·Vanuatu

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Walaha AirportVanuatu · WLH · NVSW
    18.7 kmStraight-line distance
  • Santo Pekoa International AirportVanuatu · SON · NVSS
    35.9 kmStraight-line distance
  • Longana AirportVanuatu · LOD · NVSG
    48.1 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 hours0
First 24 hours1
First 72 hours4
Strongest subsequent eventM5.1
M4.82026-03-30 19:50:27 UTC81.6 kmSanma M5.02026-03-31 10:03:38 UTC118.1 kmMalampa M4.92026-03-31 10:03:48 UTC102.9 kmVANUATU M4.92026-03-31 10:03:49 UTC106.7 km33 km SE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu M4.92026-04-06 08:19:51 UTC31.9 kmVanuatu Islands M4.52026-04-06 08:19:52 UTC28.3 km62 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu M4.42026-04-13 00:27:20 UTC18.7 kmPenama M5.12026-04-22 13:20:44 UTC18.0 kmVanuatu Islands M5.02026-04-22 13:20:46 UTC12.1 km31 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu M5.02026-04-22 13:20:46 UTC8.5 kmVANUATU

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#45
Earlier events M≥4114
Earlier events M≥559
Compared since2025-01-04

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

Strongest earlier events

M7.32026-03-30 08:44:13 UTC7.2 km48 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu M7.32026-03-30 08:44:10 UTC24.0 kmVANUATU M7.32026-03-30 08:44:08 UTC15.3 km###.# km ( ###.# mi) WSW (az= 251.1) from Quartzsite, AZ M7.32026-03-30 08:44:08 UTC10.6 kmVanuatu Islands M7.32026-03-30 08:44:08 UTC7.8 kmVanuatu Islands

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
617
Country (24h)
—
—
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