Strong Mag. 6.1 Earthquake - Vanuatu Islands on Friday, Jan 8, 2021, at 04:01 pm (GMT +11) -

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Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - Vanuatu Islands on Friday, 8 January 2021 at 05:01 (GMT) - information

A very strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific Ocean near Anatom Island island, Vanuatu, in the afternoon of Friday, Jan 8, 2021 at 4.01 pm local time (GMT +11). The quake had a moderate depth of 136 km (85 mi) and was reported felt by some people near the epicenter.

Strong mag. 6.1 Earthquake - Vanuatu Islands on Friday, Jan 8, 2021, at 04:01 pm (GMT +11)

Strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake at 136 km depth

8 Jan 05:10 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 9 minutes.
8 Jan 05:12: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 137.0 to 136.0 km (from 85 to 85 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1 km (0.6 mi) towards W.
8 Jan 07:22: Magnitude recalculated from 6.0 to 6.1.

Earthquake details

Date & time	Jan 8, 2021 05:01:06 UTC
Local time at epicenter	Friday, Jan 8, 2021, at 04:01 pm (GMT +11)
Status	Confirmed
Magnitude	6.1
Depth	136 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	20.73°S / 169.88°E South Pacific Ocean, Vanuatu
Seismic antipode	20.73°N / 10.12°W Mauritania
Shaking intensity	IV Light shaking near epicenter
Felt	4 reports
Primary data source	GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
Nearest volcano	Eastern Gemini Seamount (50 km / 31 mi)
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Overcast Clouds 27.3°C (81 F), humidity: 81%, wind: 7 m/s (13 kts) from ENE
Estimated seismic energy released	8.9 x 10¹³ joules (24.8 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 21301 tons of TNT or 1.3 atomic bombs!) \| about seismic energy

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Nearby places

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Isangel, a town with 1,400 inhabitants in Vanuatu, in 146 km (91 mi) distance northwest of the epicenter. People likely experienced light shaking there. In the capital of

New Caledonia, Noumea, 394 km (245 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as weak shaking.
The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.

Distance	Place	Max. shaking intensity(*)	Region	Country
146 km (91 mi) NW of epicenter	Isangel (pop: 1,440)	IV: Light	Tafea	Vanuatu
227 km (141 mi) SW of epicenter	Tadine (pop: 7,490)	IV: Light	Mare, Loyalty Islands	New Caledonia
273 km (169 mi) W of epicenter	Wé (pop: 10,400)	III: Weak	Lifou, Loyalty Islands	New Caledonia
348 km (216 mi) W of epicenter	Fayaoué (pop: 4,410)	III: Weak	Ouvea, Loyalty Islands	New Caledonia
371 km (231 mi) NW of epicenter	Port Vila (pop: 35,900)	III: Weak	Shefa	Vanuatu
383 km (238 mi) SW of epicenter	Mont-Dore (pop: 24,700)	III: Weak	Province Sud	New Caledonia
388 km (241 mi) SW of epicenter	Dumbéa (pop: 19,300)	III: Weak	Province Sud	New Caledonia
394 km (245 mi) SW of epicenter	Noumea (pop: 93,100)	III: Weak	Noumea, Province Sud	New Caledonia
397 km (246 mi) SW of epicenter	Paita (pop: 12,600)	III: Weak	Paita, Province Sud	New Caledonia

Notes:
(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.

User-reports for this quake (4)

We received 4 reports for this quake.

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

Translate

LIFOU / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Wé Lifou / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s

Maré / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Nouméa, avenue de la Victoire 7ème étage / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s

What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?

The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.
Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.
Read more about the MMI scale!

Compare Quake Data

Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies

The 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.

Mag	Depth	Time GMT 2021-01-8	Epicenter	Agency
6.1	136 km 85 mi	05:01:06	Vanuatu Islands	GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
6.1	120 km 75 mi	05:01:04	VANUATU 2.5 km (1.5 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
6.0	134 km 83 mi	05:01:06	Vanuatu Islands 21 km (13 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia)
6.1	113 km 70 mi	05:01:04	146 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu 0.8 km (0.5 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
6.0	113 km 70 mi	05:01:04	Vanuatu Islands 1.5 km (0.9 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	GeoAu (Geoscience Australia )

Seismograms

Seismic station: Monasavu, Fiji (MSVF/II network) | Distance from quake: 920 km / 572 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Monasavu, Fiji: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-5.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

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Seismic station Monasavu, Fiji: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Monasavu, Fiji: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake, showing horizontal E-W and N-S ground movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Raoul, Kermadec Islands (RAO/IU network) | Distance from quake: 1549 km / 963 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Raoul, Kermadec Islands: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Raoul, Kermadec Islands: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Raoul, Kermadec Islands: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Afiamalu, Samoa (AFI/IU network) | Distance from quake: 2087 km / 1297 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Afiamalu, Samoa: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Afiamalu, Samoa: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Afiamalu, Samoa: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Port Moresby, New Guinea (PMG/IU network) | Distance from quake: 2740 km / 1703 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Port Moresby, New Guinea: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Port Moresby, New Guinea: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Port Moresby, New Guinea: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Gagan, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands (KWJN/II network) | Distance from quake: 3348 km / 2080 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Gagan, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Gagan, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Gagan, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Aftershocks for this quake

So far, only one aftershock has been recorded. It hit 12 weeks after the mainshock in 4.7 km (2.9 mi) distance. When more 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 of approx. 126 km² (=49 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 19 km (12 mi).

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quake)

Date and Time GMT	Mag Depth	Distance	Region	Details
Mar 31, 2021 02:59 pm (GMT +11) 3 years ago 12 weeks after main shock	4.8 110 km	4.7 km (2.9 mi) SE of main shock	VANUATU	More
Jan 8, 2021 04:01 pm (GMT +11) 3 years ago - felt	6.1 136 km	0 km - This quake	South Pacific Ocean, 59 km S of Anatom Island, Tafea, Vanuatu Main Shock (this quake)	More

Map of aftershocks

Previous quakes in the same area of this earthquake

Map to embed or share

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