NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted 81km ESE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu at 15:03:26 GMT on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 43.91 km, was initially determined to be at 16.4357 degrees south latitude and 168.1044 degrees east longitude.