M4.9 earthquake 53 km SW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 53 km SW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sat, May 6, 1978, 6:55 AM GMT+11 (19:55 UTC), 220 km (137 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 35 km NE of Port-Olry, 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
- 1978-05-05 19:55:00 UTC
- Depth
- 220.0 km (136.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 14.186° S, 167.171° 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
- 18
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.035 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17669 days ago · 108 km deep · 69 km away
- 4.944 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17665 days ago · 214 km deep · 57 km away
- 6.763 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17664 days ago · 160 km deep · 41 km away
- 5.049 km SSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17661 days ago · 207 km deep · 23 km away
- 5.521 km ENE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17623 days ago · 122 km deep · 91 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000udm. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:24 PM UTC.