Earthquakes in New Caledonia

In New Caledonia there are partly large earthquakes with strengths of more than 7.0, which cause damages within a radius of over 100 kilometers. Due to the special tectonic situation of the country, there are more earthquakes than average.

Other natural hazards in New Caledonia:
› Tsunamis
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Earthquakes in New Caledonia since 1950

The strongest earthquake in New Caledonia happened on 05/16/1995 in the region Noumea; Vanuatu (Port-Vila) with a magnitude of 7.7 on the Richter scale. The earthquake also triggered a tsunami with further victims and destructions.
DateRegionTiefeMagnitudeDeathsTotal damage
12/05/2018Loyalty Islands8 km7.50
10/16/2018Loyalty Islands43 km6.50
08/29/2018Loyalty Islands56 km7.10
11/19/2017Loyalty Islands13 km6.30
11/19/2017Loyalty Islands28 km6.60
11/19/2017Loyalty Islands25 km7.00
11/01/2017Loyalty Islands7 km6.60
10/31/2017Loyalty Islands12 km6.70
08/12/2016Loyalty Islands28 km7.20
05/10/2011Loyalty Islands9 km6.80
04/09/2008Loyalty Islands12 km7.30
12/27/2003Loyalty Islands25 km6.10
05/16/1995Noumea; Vanuatu (Port-Vila)44 km7.70
11/02/1972Loyalty Islands (Tanna, Anatom)22 km7.00


These statistics are based on datas from the National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Several data have been summarized and translated.