Vanuatu earthquakes

M4.2 earthquake 40 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 40 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Sun, Aug 19, 1979, 1:38 AM GMT+11 (14:38 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.0 67 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.

Port-Vila forecastMore in Vanuatu

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
1979-08-18 14:38:43 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
17.739° S, 167.928° 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.

Depth from
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used
28

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 15 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.370 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17211 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
  2. 4.855 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17210 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
  3. 6.067 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17203 days ago · 10 km deep · 27 km away
  4. 4.769 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17203 days ago · 17 km deep · 30 km away
  5. 5.176 km NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17203 days ago · 33 km deep · 53 km away
  6. 4.084 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17203 days ago · 10 km deep · 45 km away
  7. 4.860 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17203 days ago · 10 km deep · 21 km away
  8. 4.161 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17202 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
  9. 4.871 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17201 days ago · 33 km deep · 42 km away
  10. 4.769 km SSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17201 days ago · 29 km deep · 66 km away
  11. 4.971 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17199 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
  12. 5.378 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17196 days ago · 33 km deep · 40 km away
  13. 4.370 km WNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17180 days ago · 10 km deep · 32 km away
  14. 5.045 km NNE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17179 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
  15. 3.975 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17165 days ago · 35 km deep · 35 km away

Before

  1. 4.384 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17211 days ago · 10 km deep · 44 km away
  2. 5.070 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17212 days ago · 15 km deep · 32 km away
  3. 5.760 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17212 days ago · 39 km deep · 21 km away
  4. 5.4Vanuatu · 17212 days ago · 23 km deep · 23 km away
  5. 6.149 km W of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17212 days ago · 17 km deep · 9 km away
  6. 5.389 km S of Port-Vila, Vanuatu · 17215 days ago · 39 km deep · 93 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00012gr. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 6:59 PM UTC.