M 7.3 in Vanuatu on 30 Mar 2026 08:44 UTC

Event summary

This earthquake can have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID EQ 1531826
Earthquake Magnitude: 7.3M
Glide number: EQ-2026-000042-VUT
Depth: 121.3 Km
Lat/Lon: -15.3139 , 167.5616
Event Date: 30 Mar 2026 08:44 UTC
30 Mar 2026 19:44 Local
Exposed Population: Few people affected (in MMI>=VII)
Inserted at: 30 Mar 2026 17:03 UTC
INFORM Coping capacity:
6.1 (Vanuatu)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
  Earthquake
(Shakemap)		 Tsunami GDACS score
NEIC 0.7 0 0.7
us7000s8q0 Scaled population (raster) 2.36 Max wave alert 0m  
  C1 shakemap -0.59 Max wave realtime 0m  
  C2 shakemap 0.53      
  Country Vulnerability 0      
  INFORM_normalised 1.12      
Maximum expected impact using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Vanuatu - Earthquake (ECHO 02 Apr 2026)Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:14

  • A ?7.3 M earthquake at a depth of 122?km occurred off the eastern coast of Espiritu?Santo Island (Sanma Province, northern Vanuatu) on 30?March at 08:44?UTC (19:55 local time). The epicentre was located 48?km east-northeast of Luganville city on Espiritu?Santo Island.
  • USGS?PAGER estimates that about?135?000 people were exposed to strong shaking and?49?000 to moderate shaking.
  • According to the National Disaster Management Office of Vanuatu (NDMO), no fatalities or injuries have been reported. Some buildings sustained slight damage, and rockfall triggered by the seismic event was recorded on Malekula Island, affecting roads. Power loss at the water-treatment facility has impacted more than?15?000 people living in Luganville city. Schools and office buildings in Luganville have been closed due to structural inspections.
  • National authorities are restoring water supply in Luganville and are conducting the damage assessment.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2026. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (90), NEIC (5), OCHA (1), DesInventar (2), WMO (2), USGS (5), (3), INFORM (4),