M5.0 earthquake 177 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 177 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sat, Mar 20, 1976, 6:42 AM GMT+11 (19:42 UTC), 50 km (31 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 141 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1976-03-19 19:42:16 UTC
- Depth
- 50.0 km (31.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 12.628° S, 166.521° 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
- 5
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.8141 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 18443 days ago · 59 km deep · 84 km away
- 5.8161 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 18436 days ago · 84 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.8149 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 18403 days ago · 170 km deep · 86 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000fh6. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:12 PM UTC.