M5.3 earthquake Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in Vanuatu on Fri, Jul 28, 1978, 9:46 PM GMT+11 (10:46 UTC), 205 km (127 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-07-28 10:46:13 UTC
- Depth
- 205.0 km (127.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.823° S, 169.001° 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
- 110
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.166 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17584 days ago · 208 km deep · 29 km away
- 5.263 km N of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17555 days ago · 259 km deep · 38 km away
- 5.232 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17553 days ago · 159 km deep · 54 km away
- 5.336 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu · 17536 days ago · 119 km deep · 55 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000vu2 (also filed as gcmtb072878a, gcmt19780728104613, iscgem680072). Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 10:20 AM UTC.