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M7.3 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands

UTC time: 2026-03-30 08:44:08 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
M7.3
Depth
120.0 km
Source
GFZ

Vanuatu Islands

Map

M7.3 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands · 2026-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M7.3 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands · 2026-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M7.3 earthquake was recorded near Vanuatu Islands on March 30, 2026 at 08:44 UTC. At around 120 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Earthquakes of this magnitude are major events and can cause severe damage over a wide area.

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

Details

ID
e24f00dd476653733d6716bec98f7d635a147b3e
Magnitude
M7.3
Depth
120.0 km
UTC time
2026-03-30 08:44:08 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-15.28000, 167.48000
Temperature
29.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 120 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 120 km
Intermediate
120 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 Vila287.2 kmS35'901

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Ambae Activity reported
    Distance: 40 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 1'496 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Vanuatu
  • Gaua
    Distance: 111 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 729 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Vanuatu
  • Ambrym Activity reported
    Distance: 128 km ·Shield(pyroclastic) ·Elevation: 1'334 m ·Last eruption: 2024 ·Vanuatu
  • Suretamatai
    Distance: 165 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 921 m ·Last eruption: 1966 ·Vanuatu
  • Lopevi
    Distance: 165 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'413 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Vanuatu
  • Motlav
    Distance: 180 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 411 m ·Vanuatu

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Walaha AirportVanuatu · WLH · NVSW
    27.0 kmStraight-line distance
  • Santo Pekoa International AirportVanuatu · SON · NVSS
    37.5 kmStraight-line distance
  • Longana AirportVanuatu · LOD · NVSG
    52.3 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 hours8
First 24 hours9
First 72 hours14
Strongest subsequent eventM7.3
M7.22026-03-30 08:44:09 UTC15.8 km27 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu M7.32026-03-30 08:44:10 UTC17.7 kmVANUATU M6.92026-03-30 08:44:11 UTC22.4 kmEvent of magnitude 6.9, near of Nouméa (Monde) M7.22026-03-30 08:44:12 UTC10.5 kmVanuatu Islands [Sea: Vanuatu] M7.32026-03-30 08:44:13 UTC9.6 km48 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu M5.52026-03-30 09:02:26 UTC54.6 kmVanuatu Islands M5.02026-03-30 09:02:29 UTC19.0 kmVANUATU M5.02026-03-30 09:02:32 UTC10.6 km42 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu M4.82026-03-30 19:50:27 UTC71.0 kmSanma M5.02026-03-31 10:03:38 UTC128.5 kmMalampa M4.92026-03-31 10:03:48 UTC113.1 kmVANUATU M4.92026-03-31 10:03:49 UTC116.8 km33 km SE of Lakatoro, 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 500 km.

Magnitude rank#1
Earlier events M≥4364
Earlier events M≥5155
Compared since2025-01-01

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

Strongest earlier events

M7.02026-03-30 08:44:07 UTC15.8 kmVanuatu Islands M6.52026-03-30 08:43:51 UTC0.0 km M6.42026-02-14 02:27:37 UTC103.7 kmSanma M6.42026-02-14 02:27:37 UTC103.7 kmSanma M6.32025-08-14 16:22:32 UTC429.3 km108 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
606
Country (24h)
—
—
Current earthquakes in
Magnitude Place Local time
No recent events available.

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