M6.4 Earthquake in the Vanuatu region — September 8, 2025
2025-09-08 21:47:48 UTC (2025-09-08) · approx. 9:47 AM UTC+12 local
Felt by 1 person across nearby locations.
On September 8, 2025 at 21:47 UTC, a magnitude 6.4 shallow crustal earthquake struck in the Vanuatu region, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -21.0025°, 173.7046°. The earthquake was reported felt by 1 personacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 3.9 (light). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 84 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 630, making it a moderate-impact event.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 60 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 16 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
The epicenter is located in Vanuatu, a region characterized by the New Hebrides subduction zone, where the Australian Plate subducts eastward at approximately 90 mm per year. View all earthquakes in Vanuatu.
Learn more: Magnitude scale · Aftershock sequences
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 1 citizen response to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
173.7046°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 6.4 earthquake in the Vanuatu region?
The magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck in the Vanuatu region on September 8, 2025 at 21:47 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 1 person with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 3.9 (light). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -21.0025°, 173.7046°, which is in the Vanuatu region. View all earthquakes in Vanuatu.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 6.4 earthquakes can continue for weeks to months and gradually diminish over time.
Has Vanuatu had earthquakes this big before?
The largest recorded earthquake in Vanuatu was the M7.9 Vanuatu earthquake of October 7, 2009. Today's magnitude 6.4 event is significantly smaller than that historical record.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000quvp). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2025, September 8, 2025). M6.4 Earthquake in the Vanuatu region — September 8, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000quvp/