Two M6.0 quakes hit near Vanuatu and Japan; no major damage alerts issued
Over the past three days the USGS recorded a run of moderate earthquakes worldwide. The strongest were two of magnitude 6.0: one on Sunday about 165 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, and one on Saturday at 352 km depth, 58 km SSE of Shima, Japan. Early on Monday, quakes of magnitude 5.1 struck the Kermadec Islands region and the Banda Sea.
The Vanuatu M6.0 and the Japan M6.0 both carried a USGS PAGER alert level of green.
Several quakes of magnitude 5.0 to 5.4 struck about 200 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, between Saturday and Sunday.
Other M5.0 to M5.2 quakes hit Iran, Panama, the Mid-Indian Ridge, the South Sandwich Islands region, the Balleny Islands region and Papua New Guinea.
Updated 2 Nov 2026, 02:38 UTC · Written by Claude from the reports on this page and on the map. Check the linked sources for full details.