M6.3 earthquake – Vanuatu Islands
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck in the Vanuatu Islands region at 15:20 local time (04:20 UTC) on 20 Oct 2026, at a depth of 16 km, according to USGS, GFZ and INGV.
Reported by 3 agencies · revised from M6.2
Data: USGS, GFZ, INGV · updated 2026-10-20 04:58 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 6.3strong
moment magnitude (W phase) (mww)
revised from 6.2 - Depth
- 16 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-20 04:20:38 UTC
- Local: 20 Oct 2026, 15:20:38 (Pacific/Efate)
- Epicentre
- 13.991° S, 165.589° E
Circles show this event and others within 178 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| No towns within 400 km. This is a remote area. | ||
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 518 km.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GFZGFZ via GEOFON, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences | 6.4 Mwas 6.2 | 10 km | 13.96° S, 165.54° E | +0.3 s | Automatic · 1 revision |
| USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey | 6.3 mwwwas 6.6 | 16 km | 13.99° S, 165.59° E | – | Reviewed · 2 revisions |
| INGVSURVEY-INGV-A via Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia | 6.4 Mwp | 13.1 km | 13.99° S, 165.56° E | +0.2 s | Automatic |
How big was it?
Can cause damage over tens of kilometres, depending on depth, local ground and how buildings are built.
It released roughly the energy of 43 kt of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 16 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M6.3 releases about 32× the energy of M5.3, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 43 kt of TNT vs 1.3 kt of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M5.3. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
1 later earthquake within 178 km; the largest was M5.3 35 min ago. 14 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M6.3
1 later earthquake nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 2.15 | 5.3 | 10 |
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id gfz2026unvm. First recorded here 20 Oct 2026, 04:28:25 UTC. Solutions: GFZ (geofon:gfz2026unvm); USGS (usgs:us6000u3jl); INGV (ingv:47580072). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M6.3 earthquake – Vanuatu Islands”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/gfz2026unvm-m6-3-earthquake-vanuatu-islands, data from USGS, GFZ, INGV.
JSON: /api/v1/events/gfz2026unvm. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.