Strong magnitude 5.0 earthquake at 187 km depth23 Feb 03:17 UTC: First to report: RaspberryShake after 4 minutes.23 Feb 03:18: Magnitude recalculated from 3.6 to 3.9.... [show all] ...23 Feb 03:20: Magnitude recalculated from 3.9 to 4.8. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 189.00 to 210.00 km (from 117 to 130 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 18 km (11 mi) towards WSW.23 Feb 03:21: Now using data updates from GFZ23 Feb 03:22: Now using data updates from EMSC23 Feb 03:22: Now using data updates from USGSI didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeFeb 23, 2026 03:12:34 UTC - Local time at epicenterMonday, Feb 23, 2026, at 02:12 pm (Pacific/Efate GMT +11)Statusconfirmed (manually revised)Magnitude5.0Depth187 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude16.184°S / 167.8834°EMalampa Province, VanuatuSeismic antipode16.184°N / 12.117°WMauritaniaQuality25 seismic stationsShaking intensityIII Weak shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)Nearest volcanoAmbrym (26 km / 16 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeBroken Clouds 25.1°C (77 F), humidity: 74%, wind: 2 m/s (5 kts) from NEEstimated seismic energy released2 x 1012 joules (554 megawatt hours, equivalent to 477 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 5.0 | about seismic energy14 minutes agoFeb 23, 2026 03:12 GMT / Feb 23, 2026 02:12 pm (Efate time)Lat / Lng: -16.184 / 167.8834: 50 km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuSource: USGSOther sources: RaspberryShake: 4.8 / 210 km, GFZ: 4.7 / 188 km, 1 more...Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22745084',-16.18400,167.88340,'14 minutes ago: Mag. 5.0, 50 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu',html,'quakes-7-24.png',30,30,15,15,126]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in VanuatuNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Norsup, a town with 3,000 inhabitants in Vanuatu, in 54 km (33 mi) distance west of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. Several smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of Vanuatu, Port Vila, 179 km (111 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as very weak shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry51 km (32 mi)W of epicenterLakatoro(pop: 705)III: WeakMalampa ProvinceVanuatu54 km (33 mi)W of epicenterNorsup(pop: 3,000)III: WeakMalampa ProvinceVanuatu107 km (66 mi)NW of epicenterLuganville(pop: 13,400)II: Very weakSanma ProvinceVanuatu144 km (89 mi)NW of epicenterHog Harbour(pop: 1000)II: Very weakSanma ProvinceVanuatu154 km (96 mi)NW of epicenterPort-Olry(pop: 1,300)II: Very weakSanma ProvinceVanuatu179 km (111 mi)S of epicenterPort Vila(pop: 35,900)II: Very weakShefa ProvinceVanuatu259 km (161 mi)N of epicenterSola(pop: 1,170)II: Very weakTorba ProvinceVanuatu402 km (250 mi)S of epicenterIsangel(pop: 1,440)II: Very weakTafea ProvinceVanuatu517 km (321 mi)S of epicenterOuvea(pop: 3,400)II: Very weakOuvea, Loyalty IslandsNew Caledonia530 km (330 mi)S of epicenterWe(pop: 10,400)I: Not feltLifou, Loyalty IslandsNew Caledonia583 km (362 mi)SW of epicenterTouho(pop: 2,280)I: Not feltProvince NordNew Caledonia585 km (364 mi)SW of epicenterPouebo(pop: 2,390)I: Not feltPouébo, Province NordNew Caledonia589 km (366 mi)S of epicenterLa Roche(pop: 550)I: Not feltMare, Loyalty IslandsNew Caledonia589 km (366 mi)SW of epicenterHienghene(pop: 2,670)I: Not feltHienghéne, Province NordNew Caledonia589 km (366 mi)SW of epicenterOuegoa(pop: 2,130)I: Not feltOuégoa, Province NordNew Caledonia593 km (369 mi)SW of epicenterPoindimie(pop: 5,010)I: Not feltPoindimie, Province NordNew Caledonia596 km (370 mi)SW of epicenterWala(pop: 890)I: Not feltBelep, Province NordNew Caledonia597 km (371 mi)S of epicenterTadine(pop: 7,490)I: Not feltMare, Loyalty IslandsNew Caledonia604 km (376 mi)SW of epicenterPonerihouen(pop: 2,740)I: Not feltPonerihouen, Province NordNew Caledonia608 km (378 mi)SW of epicenterPoum(pop: 1,410)I: Not feltProvince NordNew Caledonia615 km (382 mi)S of epicenterHouailou(pop: 4,560)I: Not feltHouaïlou, Province NordNew Caledonia618 km (384 mi)SW of epicenterKoumac(pop: 3,060)I: Not feltProvince NordNew Caledonia619 km (385 mi)SW of epicenterKaala-Gomen(pop: 1,900)I: Not feltKaala-Gomén, Province NordNew Caledonia629 km (391 mi)SW of epicenterKone(pop: 4,570)I: Not feltKone, Province NordNew Caledonia629 km (391 mi)S of epicenterCanala(pop: 3,540)I: Not feltProvince NordNew Caledonia629 km (391 mi)SW of epicenterVoh(pop: 2,270)I: Not feltProvince NordNew Caledonia629 km (391 mi)S of epicenterThio(pop: 2,750)I: Not feltProvince SudNew Caledonia643 km (399 mi)SW of epicenterPoya(pop: 2,620)I: Not feltProvince NordNew Caledonia644 km (400 mi)S of epicenterSarramea(pop: 623)I: Not feltSarraméa, Province SudNew Caledonia649 km (403 mi)S of epicenterBourail(pop: 5,530)I: Not feltProvince SudNew CaledoniaNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Get the Android appCompare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-02-23EpicenterAgency5.0187 km116 mi03:12:34.53550 km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuUSGS (United States Geological Survey)4.8210 km130 mi03:12:31Vanuatu Islands16 km (10.2 mi) epicenter difference with USGSRaspberryShake (RaspberryShake)4.7188 km117 mi03:12:35.41Vanuatu Islands4.7 km (2.9 mi) epicenter difference with USGSGFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)5.0187 km116 mi03:12:34.535VANUATU0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGSEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)5.0187 km116 mi03:12:34vanuatu islands0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGSIRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 10 km2 (4 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 5 km (3 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Feb 23, 2026 02:12 pm (Efate)14 minutes ago5.0187 km0 km - This quakeMalampa Province, 179 km N of Port Vila, Shefa Province, VanuatuMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 119 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.06 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 15.9 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.56 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 1.8 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 6.7 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 48 quakes per year (or 4 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 76 quakes per year (or 6.4 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 114 quakes per year (or 9.5 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 299 quakes per year (or 24.9 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 8 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 15 to 20 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake