Back to map

M5.5 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands

UTC time: 2025-12-18 01:59:32 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
M5.5
Depth
10.0 km
Source
GFZ

Vanuatu Islands

Map

M5.5 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands · 2025-12-18 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.5 Earthquake near Vanuatu Islands · 2025-12-18 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On December 18, 2025 at 01:59 UTC, a magnitude M5.5 earthquake occurred near Vanuatu Islands. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The event was recorded by GFZ.

Details

ID
e28c362164bdcb118e6b46c5092217573719ee6e
Magnitude
M5.5
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2025-12-18 01:59:32 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-20.28000, 169.09000
Temperature
26.5°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 10 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 10 km
Shallow
10 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 Vila294.4 kmN35'901

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Yasur
    Distance: 91 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 361 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Vanuatu
  • Gemini-Oscostar
    Distance: 132 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -33 m ·Last eruption: 1996 ·Vanuatu
  • Traitor's Head
    Distance: 170 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 817 m ·Last eruption: 1881 ·Vanuatu
  • Nguna-Emau
    Distance: 324 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 589 m ·Vanuatu
  • Matthew Island
    Distance: 325 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 177 m ·Last eruption: 1956 ·France - claimed by Vanuatu
  • Hunter Island
    Distance: 387 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 297 m ·Last eruption: 1903 ·France - claimed by Vanuatu

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Whitegrass AirportVanuatu · TAH · NVVW
    92.8 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#2
Earlier events M≥459
Earlier events M≥531
Compared since2025-01-01

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

Strongest earlier events

M5.72025-03-28 01:20:04 UTC127.1 km66 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu M5.52025-01-01 04:39:18 UTC78.1 km153 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu M5.42025-08-28 11:40:25 UTC79.2 kmVanuatu Islands M5.32025-09-25 23:16:51 UTC12.7 kmVANUATU M5.32025-09-25 23:16:49 UTC25.7 kmLoyalty Islands

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
607
Country (24h)
—
—
Current earthquakes in
Magnitude Place Local time
No recent events available.

Share