M5.0 earthquake 50 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 50 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Sat, Sep 9, 1978, 11:23 PM GMT+11 (12:23 UTC), 27 km (17 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-09-09 12:23:33 UTC
- Depth
- 27.0 km (16.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.487° S, 167.917° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.58 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.23 |
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
- 35
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.052 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17536 days ago · 33 km deep · 3 km away
- 4.230 km NE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17523 days ago · 119 km deep · 67 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wfe (also filed as iscgem676513). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:10 AM UTC.