M5.5 earthquake 28 km WSW of Malango, Solomon Islands
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 28 km WSW of Malango, Solomon Islands on Fri, Jan 20, 1978, 11:24 AM GMT+11 (00:24 UTC), 73 km (45 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-01-20 00:24:26 UTC
- Depth
- 73.0 km (45.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 9.790° S, 159.475° E
- Region
- Solomon Islands
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 2.4% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 0.1 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
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
- 76
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
None recorded.
Earthquakes todaySolomon Islands earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000sm3 (also filed as gcmtb012078b, gcmt19780120002426, iscgem688041). Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 2:32 AM UTC.