Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 52 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 52 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Fri, Sep 29, 1978, 12:22 AM GMT+11 (13:22 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

Port-Vila forecastMore in Vanuatu

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.0 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1978-09-28 13:22:32 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
17.459° S, 167.912° 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.

Depth from
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used
47

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

  1. 4.230 km NE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17521 days ago · 119 km deep · 68 km away
  2. 4.662 km SW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17484 days ago · 20 km deep · 83 km away

Before

  1. 5.050 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17553 days ago · 27 km deep · 3 km away
  2. 4.851 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17561 days ago · 29 km deep · 4 km away
  3. 5.948 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17561 days ago · 32 km deep · 11 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wsb (also filed as iscgem677350). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 1:05 PM UTC.