M5.1 earthquake 57 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 57 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Sat, Oct 28, 1978, 4:36 AM GMT+11 (17:36 UTC), 180 km (112 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 96 km NE of Norsup, 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
- 1978-10-27 17:36:40 UTC
- Depth
- 180.0 km (111.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.138° S, 167.955° 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: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.596 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 17464 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.7105 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17445 days ago · 263 km deep · 55 km away
- 3.932 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17444 days ago · 45 km deep · 32 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000x5c. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:13 AM UTC.