In the Coral Sea 207 kilometer from Port-Vila, Vanuatu, a significant M5.1 earthquake occurred in the evening of Friday February 21st, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Coral Sea, 29 kilometers (18 mi) off the coast of Vanuatu, 207 kilometer south-southeast of Port-Vila in Shefa. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 42 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Feb 21, 2025 06:20PM (Efate Time) - Feb 21, 2025 07:20 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 207 km SSE of Port-Vila, Shefa, Vanuatu. Coordinates 19°29'56"S 168°56'36"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 15 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.08 . |
| Depth: | 42 km (26 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 . Port-Vila in Shefa, Vanuatu is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 207 kilometer (129 mi) south-southeast of Port-Vila.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 207 km (129 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Port-Vila Shefa, Vanuatu. |
Risk of aftershocks?
This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major 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 February 10th, 2025, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 263 km (163 mi) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck on December 5th, 2018.
In total, 223 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 16 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 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 42 km (26 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 14/03/25 09:38 (). 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 us7000pf62
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250221_0000093
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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