Volcano in Vanuatu
Gaua volcano: eruption status today
Updated
No eruption of Gaua is being reported right now Last eruption: 1964 or later (NOAA NCEI).
Live status of Gaua: whether it is erupting now, satellite hot spots, earthquakes around it, and what an eruption would mean for nearby cities and flights.
- Status now
- No open report
- Last eruption
- 1964 or later
- Elevation
- 729 m 2,392 ft
- Type
- Stratovolcano
- Earthquakes within 50 km
- 1 past 30 days (USGS)
- Hot spots within 10 km
- 0 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
- Nearest city
- Suva 1241 km ESE
Is Gaua erupting right now?
There is no open NASA EONET event for Gaua right now. NOAA NCEI dates its most recent eruption to 1964 or later. Volcano observatories can raise alert levels before an eruption starts, so check the national observatory for the current alert level.
No satellite thermal hot spot was detected within 10 km of the summit in the latest NASA FIRMS data, so there is no sign of lava at the surface large enough for VIIRS to see (clouds can hide it).
Earthquakes near Gaua
USGS located 1 earthquake within 50 km of Gaua in the past 30 days, 1 of them in the last week. The largest was M5.5 on Oct 24, 2026, 41 km SSW of the summit at 195 km depth.
0 of them were shallower than 10 km. Swarms of shallow quakes can mean magma or gas is moving, but most swarms end without an eruption; observatories combine them with ground deformation and gas data.
| Time (UTC) | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 06:43 UTC | M5.5 | 41 km SSW | 195 km | 55 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu |
About Gaua
Gaua is a stratovolcano in Vanuatu-SW Pacific, Vanuatu, rising to 729 m (2,392 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Historical".
Stratovolcanoes are steep cones built from alternating lava and ash layers; their eruptions are often explosive, with ash columns that can reach cruising altitude.
The volcano is remote: the nearest city in our list is Suva, 1241 km away.
Flights and volcanic ash
No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Brisbane, 2085 km away), but ash clouds from explosive eruptions can drift for thousands of kilometres along flight routes.
Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) issue the official ash advisories that airlines and air traffic control follow.
Other volcanoes in Vanuatu
Vanuatu has 9 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now, 1 of them with an open NASA activity report today. The closest other one is Suretamatai, 54 km away.
Nearby volcanoes
Volcanoes in Vanuatu
More
Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.