M5.9 earthquake 164 km W of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 164 km W of Sola, Vanuatu on Wed, Mar 30, 1960, 9:49 PM GMT+11 (10:49 UTC), 33 km (20 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.2 162 km W of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1960-03-30 10:49:54 UTC
- Depth
- 32.9 km (20.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.672° S, 166.048° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.24
- Depth from
- From location
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem878687. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:09 PM UTC.