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Home » Special Events » Magnitude 7.6 earthquake near Vanuatu, Pacific Ocean
last updated: 10/09/09 11:22.36 (PDT)
On Wednesday October 7 2009 at 3:03 PM (PDT) the USArray seismic network recorded an earthquake (preliminary My 7.6) located near Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean.
Initial source parameters for this tremor are indicated below. The epicentral distance (i.e. distance separating the epicenter and the closest station in the recording network, SBC) for the USArray is 9356 km (84.05 degrees).
If you felt the quake, the USGS would like to know. Please add your comments to the USGS page "Did you feel it?".
Summary
| Solution Parameters | |
|---|---|
| Local Date: | Wednesday October 7, 2009 |
| Local Time: | 3:03 PM PST |
| Universal Time: | 10/07/09 (280) 22:03.15 UTC |
| Magnitude: | 7.6 Mw |
| Latitude: | -13.0520 |
| Longitude: | 166.1870 |
| Depth: | 35 km |
| Author: | QED |
| Authoritative: | yes |
Proximity to Population Centers
- 260 km (160 miles) S of Lata, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands
- 295 km (180 miles) NNW of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
- 785 km (490 miles) ESE of Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
- 2100 km (1310 miles) NE of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Maps
Mercator projection regional view
The red star denotes the earthquake epicenter. The orange stars denote aftershocks. Triangle symbols are active stations at the time of the earthquake in the USArray (excluding ANSS backbone stations and GSN stations, which are represented by a diamond symbol) and colored by network. Gray lines are major rivers.
| Transportable Array (TA) | |
| UC San Diego (AZ) | |
| CalTech (CI) | |
| Uni. Utah (UU) | |
| ANSS backbone stations (US) | |
| Global Seismograph Network (IU) |
Regional satellite view
The red marker denotes the earthquake epicenter. The orange markers denote aftershocks.
Detailed terrain view
The red marker denotes the earthquake epicenter. The orange markers denote aftershocks.
Waveforms
You may view plots showing this event as recorded by USArray instruments:
- 3 components recorded by SBC, the closest USArray station to the event
- Large 3 components recorded by SBC, the closest USArray station to the event
- Vertical components from every eighth USArray station that recorded the event across the whole network
3 components recorded by SBC, the closest USArray station to the event:
News links
- USGS page for this event
- CNN: "Four major quakes strike South Pacific"
- The New York Times: "Pacific Quakes Stir Panic But Tsunamis Tiny "
- Bloomberg: "Earthquake in Pacific Triggers Tsunami, Evacuations (Update2)"
Tsunami information
Search the internet
To search the internet for more information about this event, click on the button below:
Current seismic activity measured by USArray
Click the links below to observe near real time maps of earthquakes recorded by the USArray deployment:
Further information
Learn more about the Array Network Facility (ANF) component of USArray, the USArray experiment, the EarthScope project, and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS).
