M5.7 Earthquake — Vanuatu

Measurements

Measured by

Earthquake data courtesy of EMSC

This is a scientific measurement of an event that has already happened. It is not a warning, and it does not tell you what to do.

Not rated by source. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre does not publish a severity for this; the level shown is our own classification.

Also reported by: USGS EMSC USGS

This event as JSON · API and licence

Source updated 3 hours ago (Oct 19, 2026 19:51 UTC) · we last heard from European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre 53 seconds ago

What has changed

• Magnitude revised from M5.5 to M5.7 — Oct 19, 19:14 UTC by European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre

Figures published in the first minutes of an event are preliminary. A change here is the agency refining its own estimate, not a correction to this page.

What USGS has published since this earthquake

Shaking and its likely impact

USGS estimates fewer than 1,000 people were exposed to strong shaking or worse (intensity VI and above).

USGS's PAGER system gives a green alert for deaths, meaning a low likelihood of casualties; and a green alert for economic losses, meaning a low likelihood of damage. These are estimates from a model of the shaking and the population it reached, not a count.

USGS PAGER, automatic.

How far the shaking reached

• Strong shaking (intensity VI) or more reached about 10 km from the epicentre at its farthest.
• Moderate shaking (intensity V) or more reached about 25 km from the epicentre at its farthest.
• Light shaking (intensity IV) or more reached about 55 km from the epicentre at its farthest.

USGS ShakeMap, automatic: an estimate built from seismic stations, felt reports and a model where there are neither. Distances are in a straight line from USGS's epicentre; the lines on the map above are USGS's contours, simplified. Shaking varies with the ground, so a place inside a line may have felt less or more.

From the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS event page has the maps and everything USGS has published for this earthquake.

Official authorities in Vanuatu

If you are there, these are the bodies whose instructions apply. This site is not an emergency service and does not issue warnings.

• Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department
• National Disaster Management Office

General safety information

No authority has issued instructions for this event. The guidance below is general background reading, not a response to it.

Drop, Cover, and Hold On — what to do before, during and after an earthquake, plus emergency kit and family plan checklists.