M 6.1 Earthquake 56 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 6.1 mww earthquake struck 56 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu at a depth of 188 km.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on August 16, 2026 and geographically references Vanuatu. Its severity classification of "high" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, Vanuatu.
What Happened
A magnitude 6.1 mww earthquake occurred at 56 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu. The event took place at Unix timestamp 1786850424373 and was reviewed by USGS.
Location Details
The earthquake was located at latitude -14.5474, longitude 167.1934. It occurred at a depth of 188.148 km, which classifies as deep (>70 km).
Impact Assessment
No felt reports were recorded. The Modified Mercalli Intensity was 3.872. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami: 0) and no alert level issued.
What You Should Know
This was classified as a strong earthquake. No specific aftershock information or safety details are available in the source data.
Source
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
All Earthquakes →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (747 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (high) notices issued closest in time to August 16, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.