M4.3 earthquake 150 km W of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 150 km W of Sola, Vanuatu on Sat, Feb 17, 1979, 7:44 AM GMT+11 (20:44 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 135 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.3 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-02-16 20:44:04 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.639° S, 166.181° 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
- 7
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.8135 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17358 days ago · 122 km deep · 88 km away
- 5.0165 km W of Sola, Vanuatu · 17340 days ago · 33 km deep · 15 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000yw2. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:18 AM UTC.