M5.6 earthquake 105 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 105 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Wed, Oct 3, 1973, 7:19 PM GMT+11 (08:19 UTC), 72 km (45 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.4 52 km SW 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
- 5.6 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-10-03 08:19:39 UTC
- Depth
- 72.0 km (44.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 13.548° S, 166.637° 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.
- Stations used
- 8
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 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 usp00003nr. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:40 AM UTC.