Earthquakes in Vanuatu

At 12:47:26 VUT (01:47:26 UTC) on 17 December 2024, a Mw 7.3 earthquake struck near Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. At least 14 people died while 265 others were injured. Extensive damage occurred in Port Vila and surrounding areas. The earthquake also generated a 25 cm (10 in) tsunami.

The 2002 Port Vila earthquake occurred in the early dawn of 3 January 2002, 4:22 a.m. local time (UTC+11) northwest of Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. It had a magnitude of 7.2 Mw and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) west of the island on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. There are no exact estimates on the number of injured individuals, but the majority of accounts say there were "several" amounts of injured civilians. the event also caused a minor tsunami of about 0.4–0.8 m just 11 minutes after the quake.

The 2009 Vanuatu earthquakes were three earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 7.4 to 7.8, constituting some of the largest earthquakes in Vanuatu's history.

The 1999 Ambrym earthquake occurred on November 27 at 00:21:17 local time with a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). The back arc thrust event occurred within the Vanuatu archipelago, just to the south of the volcanic island of Ambrym. Vanuatu, which was previously known as New Hebrides, is subject to volcanic and earthquake activity because it lies on an active and destructive plate boundary called the New Hebrides Subduction Zone. While the National Geophysical Data Center classified the total damage as moderate, a destructive local tsunami did result in some deaths, with at least five killed and up to 100 injured.