M5.3 earthquake 173 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 173 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands on Thu, May 18, 1978, 7:39 AM GMT+11 (20:39 UTC), 69 km (43 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-05-17 20:39:18 UTC
- Depth
- 69.0 km (42.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 12.166° S, 166.419° E
- Region
- Solomon Islands
- 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
- 14
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todaySolomon Islands earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ukc. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 11:42 PM UTC.