A magnitude 7.2 earthquake near Luganville, Sanma Province, Vanuatu, was reported only 10 minutes ago by the United States Geological Survey, considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at an intermediate depth of 87.50 km beneath the epicenter early evening on Monday, March 30th, 2026, at 7:44 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.Our monitoring service identified a second report from The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) which listed the quake at magnitude 7.2 as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) at magnitude 6.3, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 7.0, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 7.0.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage. Moderate shaking probably occurred in Luganville (pop. 13,400) located 28 km from the epicenter, Hog Harbour (pop. 1000) 41 km away, Port-Olry (pop. 1,300) 51 km away, Norsup (pop. 3,000) 75 km away, and Sola (pop. 1,200) 169 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Mar 30, 2026 07:44 pm (Efate time) local time (30 Mar 2026 08:44 GMT)Magnitude: 7.2Depth: 87.50 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 15.39°S / 167.38°E (Shefa Province, Vanuatu)Primary data source: USGS