M5.3 earthquake 41 km ESE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 41 km ESE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Fri, Oct 6, 1978, 9:43 AM GMT+11 (22:43 UTC), 129 km (80 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
- 5.3 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-10-05 22:43:31 UTC
- Depth
- 129.0 km (80.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.195° S, 167.425° 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
- 43
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.048 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 17513 days ago · 116 km deep · 29 km away
- 5.29 km NE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 17489 days ago · 121 km deep · 36 km away
- 5.596 km NE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 17473 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
Before
- 5.226 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17528 days ago · 136 km deep · 51 km away
- 5.430 km W of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17538 days ago · 35 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.322 km WNW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17538 days ago · 25 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.430 km WNW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17543 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
- 5.327 km ENE of Norsup, Vanuatu · 17555 days ago · 39 km deep · 88 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wvs. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 11:52 AM UTC.