M5.4 earthquake 102 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 102 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Tue, May 9, 1978, 3:35 AM GMT+11 (16:35 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-05-08 16:35:38 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.017° S, 167.536° 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
- 46
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.999 km SSE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17670 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away
- 5.198 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17670 days ago · 33 km deep · 7 km away
- 4.6103 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17665 days ago · 33 km deep · 3 km away
- 5.399 km S of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17665 days ago · 15 km deep · 6 km away
- 5.217 km ESE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17655 days ago · 47 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.997 km ESE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17626 days ago · 80 km deep · 85 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000uex (also filed as iscgem681987). Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 2:07 PM UTC.