A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit near the coast of Ambae, Vanuatu at 15:23 UTC on March 20, 2019 at a depth of 125.4 km (78 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.2 at a depth of 134 km (83 miles).
The epicenter was located 49.1 km (30.5 miles) ESE of Luganville (population 13 397) and 245 km (153 miles) NNW of Port-Vila (population 35 901), Vanuatu.
There are 120 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).
There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
1 000 people are estimated to have felt moderate shaking and 179 000 light.
The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unknown/miscellaneous types and wood construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
Featured image credit: Google, TW/SAM
Register/become a supporter
Support us AD-FREE
Your support is crucial for our survival. It makes this project fully self-sustainable and keeps us independent and focused on the content we love to create and share.
Monthly subscription
Yearly subscription
You'll receive your ad-free account for 20x faster browsing experience, clean interface without any distractions, ability to post comments without prior editorial check, all our desktop and mobile applications (current and upcoming) ad-free and with the full set of features available, a direct line of communication and much more. See all options.
