M4.6 earthquake 69 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 69 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Sun, Jan 14, 1979, 2:39 AM GMT+11 (15:39 UTC), 231 km (144 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 55 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-01-13 15:39:03 UTC
- Depth
- 231.0 km (143.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.018° S, 168.059° 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
- 37
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.755 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu · 17391 days ago · 162 km deep · 17 km away
- 5.844 km E of Luganville, Vanuatu · 17387 days ago · 123 km deep · 73 km away
- 4.448 km ENE of Luganville, Vanuatu · 17374 days ago · 51 km deep · 83 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ydw. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:19 AM UTC.