A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck at about 09:00 UTC on 8 October 2026 in the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. The epicentre was about 102 km northeast of the town of Norsup, at a shallow depth of about 10 km. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) rates the likely impact as green, its lowest level, meaning limited damage is expected. Its shaking map puts the strongest estimated shaking at 7.7 on the Modified Mercalli scale, a 1-to-10 scale of felt effects, so nearby areas could have felt very strong shaking. Only two "Did You Feel It?" reports have come in so far, and the reports say nothing about a tsunami.
How unusual is it? Magnitude 6 earthquakes happen about 150 times a year, and Vanuatu is one of the most active earthquake zones in the world. The green alert points to limited impact; a higher PAGER level, reports of damage or a tsunami flag would change this assessment.
Written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5-5) from the official reports in this thread; last updated .
It may contain mistakes: the reports themselves are the authority.
Earthquake M 6.3 - 102 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu
USGS Earthquakes —
USGS: M 6.3 - 102 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu Magnitude: 6.3 mww Where: 102 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu When: 2026-10-08 09:00 UTC Location: 15.54° S, 168.19° E; depth 10 km USGS PAGER impact alert: not yet issued "Did You Feel It?" reports: 1 Status: reviewed by a seismologist
Filter: earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and above; an update is posted when USGS revises the magnitude by 0.2 or more, changes the PAGER alert level, or sets or clears the tsunami flag. Relayed automatically from the U.S. Geological Survey earthquake feed.
