M6.0 earthquake 76 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 76 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Wed, Sep 6, 1978, 10:07 PM GMT+11 (11:07 UTC), 198 km (123 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.3 37 km W 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
- 6.0 (mb), strong
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-09-06 11:07:43 UTC
- Depth
- 198.0 km (123.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 13.316° S, 167.137° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 1.0% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- -0.5 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 168
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.337 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 17531 days ago · 201 km deep · 68 km away
- 5.681 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17529 days ago · 202 km deep · 7 km away
- 5.268 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17505 days ago · 210 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.9163 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17497 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wdz (also filed as gcmtc090678a, gcmt19780906110743, atlas19780906110743, iscgem676395). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:19 PM UTC.