M5.0 earthquake 172 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 172 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Fri, Mar 24, 1978, 9:47 PM GMT+11 (10:47 UTC), 247 km (153 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 173 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-24 10:47:49 UTC
- Depth
- 247.0 km (153.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 12.436° S, 166.949° 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
- 35
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 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 usp0000tmm. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:55 AM UTC.