Earthquakes in Vanuatu

Seismic activity in Vanuatu is moderate by global standards, with 22 events recorded in the past 30 days, and 111 of the events on record reached magnitude 5 or above — the level at which damage becomes a genuine concern for vulnerable construction. Vanuatu sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the depth distribution below shows the subducting slab beneath it directly.

282 earthquakes have been recorded in Vanuatu in our catalogue, 22 of them in the past 30 days.

The average magnitude is 5.0 and the average focal depth 118 km. 282 events reached magnitude 4 or above and 111 reached magnitude 5 or above.

The strongest earthquake recorded in Vanuatu in this period was a magnitude 7.3 event near Luganville, Vanuatu on 30 March 2026, at a depth of 116 km. A magnitude 7.3 earthquake radiates roughly 1.3 million tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

Locations recording the most events include Isangel (66), Port-Vila (63), Sola (50), Port-Olry (34), Luganville (15).

52% of events here are shallow (under 70 km), 43% intermediate (70–300 km) and 6% deep-focus (over 300 km). That proportion of deep-focus events is the signature of a subduction zone: only a cold slab descending into the mantle stays brittle enough to rupture at those depths.

The deepest event on record here was a magnitude 4.3 earthquake at 661 km beneath Sola, Vanuatu on 22 November 2025.

By band, the catalogue holds 171 in the magnitude 4 range, 99 in the magnitude 5 range, 9 in the magnitude 6 range, 3 in the magnitude 7 range.

The busiest single day was 17 December 2024, with 15 recorded events.

6 of these events carry a USGS link to NOAA tsunami information. That link flag does not mean a tsunami occurred or that a warning was issued.