M5.0 earthquake 49 km SSW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 49 km SSW of Sola, Vanuatu on Wed, May 17, 1978, 12:21 PM GMT+11 (01:21 UTC), 207 km (129 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 21 km ENE 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
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-05-17 01:21:08 UTC
- Depth
- 207.0 km (128.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 14.283° S, 167.356° 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
- 54
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.521 km ENE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17622 days ago · 122 km deep · 81 km away
- 5.287 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17605 days ago · 47 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.9Vanuatu · 17605 days ago · 35 km deep · 90 km away
Before
- 6.763 km NNE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17664 days ago · 160 km deep · 27 km away
- 4.944 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17665 days ago · 214 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.035 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17669 days ago · 108 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.953 km SW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17672 days ago · 220 km deep · 23 km away
- 5.233 km NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu · 17677 days ago · 141 km deep · 59 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ujz. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:11 AM UTC.