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M7.2 Earthquake near 27 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu

UTC time: 2026-03-30 08:44:09 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
M7.2
Depth
87.5 km
Source
USGS

27 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu

Map

M7.2 Earthquake near 27 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 2026-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M7.2 Earthquake near 27 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 2026-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On March 30, 2026 at 08:44 UTC, a magnitude M7.2 earthquake occurred near 27 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu. At around 88 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Events of this size can trigger serious destruction across large regions.

The event was recorded by USGS.

Details

ID
a0e09fa52ba5f6f29190afbd0520eb65a7696e7d
Magnitude
M7.2
Depth
87.5 km
UTC time
2026-03-30 08:44:09 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-15.38700, 167.38300
Temperature
29.9°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 87.5 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 87.5 km
Intermediate
87.5 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 Vila279.4 kmS35'901

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Ambae Activity reported
    Distance: 48 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 1'496 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Vanuatu
  • Gaua
    Distance: 124 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 729 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Vanuatu
  • Ambrym Activity reported
    Distance: 124 km ·Shield(pyroclastic) ·Elevation: 1'334 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Vanuatu
  • Lopevi
    Distance: 162 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'413 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Vanuatu
  • Suretamatai
    Distance: 177 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 921 m ·Last eruption: 1966 ·Vanuatu
  • East Epi
    Distance: 180 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 833 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Vanuatu

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Santo Pekoa International AirportVanuatu · SON · NVSS
    21.8 kmStraight-line distance
  • Walaha AirportVanuatu · WLH · NVSW
    33.1 kmStraight-line distance
  • Longana AirportVanuatu · LOD · NVSG
    63.3 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 500 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours7
First 24 hours8
First 72 hours13
Strongest subsequent eventM7.3
M7.32026-03-30 08:44:10 UTC13.3 kmVANUATU M6.92026-03-30 08:44:11 UTC10.6 kmEvent of magnitude 6.9, near of Nouméa (Monde) M7.22026-03-30 08:44:12 UTC10.6 kmVanuatu Islands [Sea: Vanuatu] M7.32026-03-30 08:44:13 UTC20.8 km48 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu M5.52026-03-30 09:02:26 UTC70.1 kmVanuatu Islands M5.02026-03-30 09:02:29 UTC29.9 kmVANUATU M5.02026-03-30 09:02:32 UTC15.2 km42 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu M4.82026-03-30 19:50:27 UTC78.9 kmSanma M5.02026-03-31 10:03:38 UTC126.5 kmMalampa M4.92026-03-31 10:03:48 UTC103.5 kmVANUATU M4.92026-03-31 10:03:49 UTC107.1 km33 km SE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu M5.22026-03-31 21:56:33 UTC356.1 kmSanta Cruz Islands Region

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 500 km.

Magnitude rank#4
Earlier events M≥4369
Earlier events M≥5158
Compared since2025-01-01

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

Strongest earlier events

M7.32026-03-30 08:44:08 UTC10.0 km###.# km ( ###.# mi) WSW (az= 251.1) from Quartzsite, AZ M7.32026-03-30 08:44:08 UTC15.8 kmVanuatu Islands M7.32026-03-30 08:44:08 UTC13.5 kmVanuatu Islands M7.02026-03-30 08:44:07 UTC31.2 kmVanuatu Islands M6.52026-03-30 08:43:51 UTC15.8 km

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
606
Country (24h)
—
—
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