M4.9 earthquake 187 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 187 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Wed, Feb 8, 1978, 7:29 PM GMT+11 (08:29 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 172 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-02-08 08:29:59 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 12.859° S, 166.164° 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
- 16
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000svn. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:59 PM UTC.