M5.3 earthquake 133 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 133 km S of Isangel, Vanuatu on Tue, Sep 5, 1978, 12:03 AM GMT+11 (13:03 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 89 km SW 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
- 5.3 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-09-04 13:03:46 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.743° S, 169.387° 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.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 43
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.2100 km SSW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17556 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
- 6.089 km SW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17555 days ago · 36 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.2113 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia · 17519 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.998 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17507 days ago · 89 km deep · 44 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wcs (also filed as iscgem676294). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC.