M5.1 earthquake 66 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 66 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu on Thu, Aug 3, 1978, 3:23 AM GMT+11 (16:23 UTC), 208 km (129 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 63 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-08-02 16:23:55 UTC
- Depth
- 208.0 km (129.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.942° S, 169.246° 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
- 48
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.263 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17554 days ago · 259 km deep · 9 km away
- 5.232 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17552 days ago · 159 km deep · 40 km away
- 5.336 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17535 days ago · 119 km deep · 47 km away
- 5.654 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17526 days ago · 145 km deep · 35 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000vws (also filed as iscgemsup677541). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC.