M5.3 earthquake 36 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 36 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu on Tue, Sep 19, 1978, 11:45 PM GMT+11 (12:45 UTC), 119 km (74 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 54 km NW 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
- 1978-09-19 12:45:00 UTC
- Depth
- 119.0 km (73.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 19.313° S, 169.030° 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
- 96
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 3 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 usp0000wmn (also filed as iscgem676957). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:03 AM UTC.