Magnitude 4.9 earthquake strikes 4 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 4 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu, on Friday, July 24, 2026, at 22:39:19 GMT. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the seismic event originated at a depth of 10 km. Its coordinates were recorded as -13.8673 latitude and 167.5081 longitude.

The USGS, a scientific agency of the United States government, monitors and reports on earthquakes globally. They use a network of seismographs to detect ground motion and calculate earthquake parameters such as magnitude, location, depth, and time of occurrence. Magnitude, a measure of an earthquake's size, is determined from the amplitude of seismic waves recorded by these instruments.