Strong M6.0 earthquake hits Vanuatu
Image credit: TW
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit Vanuatu at 02:09 UTC on January 3, 2022, at a depth of 104 km (65 miles). EMSC is reporting it as M6.0 at a depth of 125 km (77 miles).
The epicenter was located 110 km (68 miles) NW of Sola and 530 km (239 miles) NNW of Port-Villa, Vanuatu.
There are about 2 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles).
16 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking.
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
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
Regional seismicity
Feature image credit: TW/SAM, Google
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
Earlier reporting
Nothing on Watchers was published in the last 24 hours. These are older articles.
- Deep M6.2 earthquake hits Vanuatu 43 km from Port-Olry at 143 km depth, no tsunami threat as USGS issues Green alert
- Acid rain reported across multiple islands as Manaro Voui volcano continues erupting at Alert Level 3, Vanuatu
- In 1920, a man out hunting on a farm in Namibia sat down on a strange black rock, scratched it with his knife and saw metal shine underneath. It was Hoba, a 60-ton meteorite, the largest ever found, and there is no crater around it Epicenter
- On December 26, 2004, a 10-year-old British girl on a Phuket beach recognized the frothing sea from a recent geography lesson, and her warning helped clear the beach before the tsunami struck Epicenter
