A significant M5.0 earthquake struck in the Coral Sea 45 kilometer from Port-Vila, Vanuatu in the morning of Tuesday January 7th, 2025.
Felt the earthquake? Share this article: 
Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Coral Sea, 32 kilometers (20 mi) off the coast of Vanuatu, 45 kilometer west-southwest of Port-Vila in Shefa. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Jan 7, 2025 08:20AM (Efate Time) - Jan 6, 2025 21:20 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 45 km WSW of Port-Vila, Shefa, Vanuatu. Coordinates 17°54'54"S 167°56'13"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.0 Detected by 11 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.093 . |
| Depth: | 35 km (22 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Vanuatu . Located 45 kilometer (28 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Port-Vila (Shefa, Vanuatu) is the nearest significant population center.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 45 km (28 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Port-Vila Shefa, Vanuatu. |
Shaking reported by 5 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 5 people have reported shaking in one place in Vanuatu.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.
Places with most reports:
- Vila, Shefa, Vanuatu: 5 people.
3 Aftershocks detected
This main shock was followed by 3 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 29 km (18 mi) south-southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.7
Before this earthquake struck, 3 smaller foreshocks occurred. A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days earlier nearby.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 4.4 |
3 days earlier Jan 4, 2025 01:39PM (Efate Time) | 27 km (17 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.1 |
2 days earlier Jan 4, 2025 11:02PM (Efate Time) | 40 km (25 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 4.8 |
2 days earlier Jan 5, 2025 04:02PM (Efate Time) | 44 km (28 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.0 |
Jan 7, 2025 08:20AM (Efate Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 4.0 |
2 days later Jan 8, 2025 10:07PM (Efate Time) | 16 km (10 mi) ENE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.2 |
2 days later Jan 8, 2025 10:16PM (Efate Time) | 24 km (15 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.7 |
2 days later Jan 9, 2025 01:43PM (Efate Time) | 29 km (18 mi) SSW from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).Earthquakes like this happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since January 4th, 2025, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 206 km (128 mi) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on December 17th, 2024.
In total, 297 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 12 days.
Low tsunami risk
Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 35 km (22 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 14/01/25 21:28 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pi8v
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250106_0000301
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
Share this article:
