Magnitude 5.3 earthquake strikes near Sola, Torba, Vanuatu
5.3 quake 18 Feb 8:02 pm (GMT +11)

The United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude 5.3 quake in Vanuatu near Sola, Torba, only 27 minutes ago. The earthquake hit in the evening on Saturday, February 18th, 2023, at 8:02 pm local time at an intermediate to considerable depth of 198.6 km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from Geoscience Australia (GeoAu) which listed the quake at magnitude 5.3 as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 4.9, France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) at magnitude 5.1, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 4.9, and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.3.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Sola (pop. 1,200) located 86 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Feb 18, 2023 8:02 pm (GMT +11) local time (18 Feb 2023 09:02 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 198.6 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 13.23°S / 167.12°E (Coral Sea, Vanuatu)
Primary data source: USGS
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/204478/Magnitude-53-earthquake-strikes-near-Sola-Torba-Vanuatu.html