Earthquakes in Vanuatu are frequent and are sometimes accompanied by tsunami, though these events are not often destructive. The archipelago, which was formerly known as New Hebrides, lies atop a complex and active plate boundary in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. Most buildings in Vanuatu are constructed with lumber.

Tectonic setting The primary tectonic feature of the island chain is the New Hebrides Trench, the convergent boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates. Along the Wadati–Benioff zone, earthquake activity has been observed as shallow, intermediate, and deep-focus events at depths of up to . Volcanic activity is also present along this north-northwest trending and northeast-dipping subduction zone.

While much of the island arc experiences intermediate-depth earthquakes along a Wadati–Benioff zone that dips steeply at 70°, the area adjacent to the d'Entrecasteaux Ridge does not. There is a corresponding gap in seismicity that occurs below where it enters the subduction zone from the west. According to the NUVEL-1 global relative plate motion model, convergence is occurring at roughly per year. The uncertainty, which also affects the Tonga arc, is due to the influence of spreading at the North Fiji Basin. Of the 58 M7 or greater events that occurred between 1909 and 2001, few were studied.

Earthquakes DateRegionMMIDeathsInjuriesCommentsRef2024-12-17Efate7.3 IX14265Severe damage2023-01-08Espiritu Santo7.0 VIIMajor damage2018-12-16Ambrym5.5 VISeveral houses destroyed2018-08-21Pentecost6.5 VII1Minor damage2010-12-25Tafea7.3 V4Minor damage / tsunami 2010-08-10Shefa7.3 VIIBuildings damaged / power outages2009-10-07Torba7.4 VIII 2009-10-07Torba7.8 VII Tsunami 2009-10-07Torba7.7 IX 2009-06-03 Efate 6.3 VI 4 Landslides 2009-05-29 Efate 5.7 VI 10 Landslides / damage 2007-08-01Sanma7.2 VII1Many buildings damaged 2002-11-28 Torba 5.9 VII 3 Landslides / damage 2002-01-03 Efate 7.2 X Several Rockslides / damage 1999-11-26 Ambrym 7.4 VIII 5–10 40–100 Landslides / damage / five killed by tsunami 1999-08-22 Ambrym 6.6 IX Foreshock / landslides 1997-04-21 Santa Cruz Islands 7.7 VII Some damage / tsunami 1992-10-11 Tanna 7.4 VIII 1990-07-27 Espiritu Santo 7.2 VII 2 Moderate damage 1973-12-29 Espiritu Santo 7.2 VIII Moderate damage 1973-12-29 Espiritu Santo 7.5 VIII Moderate damage 1971-10-27 Tutuba 6.8 VI 1 Some Severe damage 1965-08-11 Malakula 7.6 IX Moderate damage / tsunami 1910-11-10 Malakula 7.3 VI Moderate damage / tsunami 1909-07-08 Moderate damage / tsunami 1863-08-17 7.5 Note: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

See also List of tectonic plate interactions List of volcanoes in Vanuatu

References

Sources

Further reading

External links Predicting Earthquake Hazard in Vanuatu Solomon & Vanuatu Islands—Earthquakes & Tectonic Setting – IRIS Consortium