M5.1 earthquake 79 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 79 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu on Tue, Dec 11, 1979, 4:28 PM GMT+11 (05:28 UTC), 51 km (32 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 54 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-12-11 05:28:19 UTC
- Depth
- 51.0 km (31.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.103° S, 168.681° 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
- 39
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 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 usp00014en. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC.