M4.6 earthquake 63 km SSE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 63 km SSE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Thu, Nov 15, 1979, 7:30 PM GMT+11 (08:30 UTC), 27 km (17 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 63 km WNW of Port-Vila, 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, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-11-15 08:30:22 UTC
- Depth
- 27.0 km (16.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.608° S, 167.684° 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
- 13
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.764 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17094 days ago · 23 km deep · 97 km away
- 5.263 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17092 days ago · 19 km deep · 96 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001417. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:33 AM UTC.