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SeismoAtlas

M5.0 earthquake – Port-Olry, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in the Port-Olry, Vanuatu region at 21:06 local time (10:06 UTC) on 27 Oct 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to USGS.

Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-27 10:50 UTC · reviewed

Magnitude
5.0moderate
body-wave magnitude (mb)
Depth
10 km
Status
Reviewed
Origin time
2026-10-27 10:06:31 UTC
Local: 27 Oct 2026, 21:06:31 (Pacific/Efate)
Epicentre
13.944° S, 165.788° 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
USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey5.0 mb10 km13.94° S, 165.79° E–Reviewed

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

23 later earthquakes within 40 km; the largest was M6.0 15 days ago. 101 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.

Aftershocks

Mainshock M5.0

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

Aftershocks
Time after mainshock (hours)MagnitudeDepth (km)
0.735.210
16.124.810
16.185.210
16.256.010
16.895.610
18.415.010
30.564.310
74.574.710
95.164.910
97.415.010
97.834.310
108.605.210
109.864.810
116.345.410
116.915.110
117.304.410
117.524.710
120.474.910
121.686.010
121.844.810
122.034.810
321.364.810
345.804.912
  1. 6.0Vanuatu Islands10-28 02:21
  2. 6.0Vanuatu Islands11-01 11:47
  3. 5.6Vanuatu Islands10-28 02:59
  4. 5.4Vanuatu Islands11-01 06:26
  5. 5.2Vanuatu Islands10-27 10:50
  6. 5.2Vanuatu Islands10-28 02:17
  7. 5.2Vanuatu Islands10-31 22:42
  8. 5.1Vanuatu Islands11-01 07:00
  9. 5.0Sola, Vanuatu10-28 04:31
  10. 5.0Vanuatu Islands10-31 11:31
  11. 4.9Vanuatu Islands10-31 09:15
  12. 4.9Vanuatu Islands11-10 19:54
  13. 4.9Vanuatu Islands11-01 10:34
  14. 4.8Port-Olry, Vanuatu10-28 02:13
  15. 4.8Vanuatu Islands10-31 23:57
  16. 4.8Vanuatu Islands11-01 11:56
  17. 4.8Port-Olry, Vanuatu11-01 12:08
  18. 4.8Vanuatu Islands11-09 19:27
  19. 4.7Port-Olry, Vanuatu10-30 12:40
  20. 4.7Port-Olry, Vanuatu11-01 07:37
  21. 4.4Port-Olry, Vanuatu11-01 07:24
  22. 4.3Sola, Vanuatu10-28 16:39
  23. 4.3Sola, Vanuatu10-31 11:56

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 us7000ttfj. First recorded here 27 Oct 2026, 10:51:53 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us7000ttfj). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M5.0 earthquake – Port-Olry, Vanuatu”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us7000ttfj-m5-0-earthquake-port-olry-vanuatu, data from USGS.

JSON: /api/v1/events/us7000ttfj. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.