M4.8 earthquake 240 km ENE of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 240 km ENE of Sola, Vanuatu on Thu, Mar 17, 1977, 8:18 PM GMT+11 (09:18 UTC), 652 km (405 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 226 km ENE 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-03-17 09:18:39 UTC
- Depth
- 652.0 km (405.1 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 12.779° S, 169.470° 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 1.8 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 2 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 usp0000myf. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:23 AM UTC.