M4.5 earthquake Vanuatu region
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in the Vanuatu region on Tue, Jul 20, 1976, 5:21 PM GMT+11 (06:21 UTC), 643 km (400 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.9 Vanuatu region. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1976-07-20 06:21:51 UTC
- Depth
- 643.0 km (399.5 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 13.885° S, 170.581° 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
- 21
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000hen. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 11:05 AM UTC.