M5.0 earthquake 48 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 48 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu on Fri, Oct 20, 1978, 10:16 PM GMT+11 (11:16 UTC), 116 km (72 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 57 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-10-20 11:16:19 UTC
- Depth
- 116.0 km (72.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.400° S, 167.593° 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
- 33
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.157 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17497 days ago · 180 km deep · 91 km away
- 5.29 km NE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 17480 days ago · 121 km deep · 40 km away
- 5.596 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 17464 days ago · 33 km deep · 54 km away
- 4.7105 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17445 days ago · 263 km deep · 94 km away
- 3.932 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17445 days ago · 45 km deep · 67 km away
Before
- 5.341 km ESE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17519 days ago · 129 km deep · 29 km away
- 5.226 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17519 days ago · 136 km deep · 80 km away
- 5.430 km W of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17529 days ago · 35 km deep · 95 km away
- 5.322 km WNW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17530 days ago · 25 km deep · 91 km away
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000x2e. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:30 PM UTC.