M5.7 earthquake 138 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 138 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Fri, Oct 29, 1971, 1:20 AM GMT+11 (14:20 UTC), 40 km (25 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.6 129 km WNW 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
- 5.7 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1971-10-28 14:20:32 UTC
- Depth
- 40.0 km (24.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.342° S, 166.392° 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
- ±1.64
- Depth from
- From location
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.6129 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 20053 days ago · 20 km deep · 10 km away
- 5.4126 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 20052 days ago · 20 km deep · 12 km away
- 5.3120 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 20052 days ago · 25 km deep · 20 km away
- 5.4173 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 20024 days ago · 56 km deep · 63 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgemsup779733 (also filed as iscgem779733). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:19 AM UTC.