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SeismoAtlas

M5.0 earthquake – Vanuatu Islands

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in the Vanuatu Islands region at 10:44 local time (23:44 UTC) on 25 Oct 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to USGS and GFZ.

Reported by 2 agencies

Data: USGS, GFZ · updated 2026-11-07 01:28 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
5.0moderate
body-wave magnitude (mb)
Depth
10 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-10-24 23:44:58 UTC
Local: 25 Oct 2026, 10:44:58 (Pacific/Efate)
Epicentre
13.882° S, 165.672° E

Circles show this event and others within 40 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map

Nearby places

Distance and estimated shaking at nearby places
PlaceDistanceEst. 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 127 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.

AgencyMagnitudeDepthEpicentreTime offsetStatus
GFZGFZ via GEOFON, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences5.0 mb10 km13.83° S, 165.79° E−0.3 sAutomatic
USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey5.0 mb10 km13.88° S, 165.67° E–Reviewed · 1 revision

How big was it?

Felt by most people over a wide area. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.

It released roughly the energy of 477 t 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 10 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.

M5.0 releases about 32× the energy of M4.0, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 477 t of TNT vs 15 t of TNT.

Each square is the energy of one M4.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.

Aftershocks and nearby activity

47 later earthquakes within 40 km; the largest was M6.0 15 days ago. 121 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M5.0

47 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
5.484.310
5.814.610
5.984.510
6.024.510
8.504.410
8.935.410
8.984.910
20.764.810
24.254.610
25.625.010
25.984.610
29.144.810
35.555.010
36.485.210
38.314.610
40.924.610
40.944.510
40.974.510
57.175.811
57.605.010
58.365.010
59.095.210
73.905.510
74.484.810
74.545.210
74.616.010
75.255.610
76.775.010
88.914.310
127.444.310
135.644.510
142.504.710
153.524.910
155.775.010
156.194.310
166.965.210
168.224.810
174.705.410
175.275.110
175.664.410
175.884.710
178.834.910
180.036.010
180.204.810
180.394.810
213.164.610
404.164.912
  1. 6.0Vanuatu Islands10-28 02:21
  2. 6.0Vanuatu Islands11-01 11:47
  3. 5.8Vanuatu Islands10-27 08:55
  4. 5.6Vanuatu Islands10-28 02:59
  5. 5.5Vanuatu Islands10-28 01:39
  6. 5.4Vanuatu Islands10-25 08:40
  7. 5.4Vanuatu Islands11-01 06:26
  8. 5.2Vanuatu Islands10-26 12:13
  9. 5.2Vanuatu Islands10-27 10:50
  10. 5.2Vanuatu Islands10-28 02:17
  11. 5.2Vanuatu Islands10-31 22:42
  12. 5.1Vanuatu Islands11-01 07:00
  13. 5.0Port-Olry, Vanuatu10-26 01:22
  14. 5.0Vanuatu Islands10-26 11:17
  15. 5.0Port-Olry, Vanuatu10-27 09:20
  16. 5.0Port-Olry, Vanuatu10-27 10:06
  17. 5.0Sola, Vanuatu10-28 04:31
  18. 5.0Vanuatu Islands10-31 11:31
  19. 4.9Sola, Vanuatu10-25 08:43
  20. 4.9Vanuatu Islands10-31 09:15
  21. 4.9Vanuatu Islands11-10 19:54
  22. 4.9Vanuatu Islands11-01 10:34
  23. 4.8Vanuatu Islands10-25 20:30
  24. 4.8Vanuatu Islands10-26 04:53
  25. 4.8Port-Olry, Vanuatu10-28 02:13

Did you feel it?

Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.

Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.

Reports on SeismoAtlas

No reports yet.

Event id gfz2026uwpx. First recorded here 25 Oct 2026, 00:01:10 UTC. Solutions: GFZ (geofon:gfz2026uwpx); USGS (usgs:us6000u4qp). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M5.0 earthquake – Vanuatu Islands”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/gfz2026uwpx-m5-0-earthquake-vanuatu-islands, data from USGS, GFZ.

JSON: /api/v1/events/gfz2026uwpx. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.