Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake 210 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 210 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Fri, Mar 16, 1979, 3:12 PM GMT+11 (04:12 UTC), 40 km (25 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.4 (ms), moderate
Local time
UTC
1979-03-16 04:12:32 UTC
Depth
40.0 km (24.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
12.648° S, 166.073° 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
CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Stations used
104

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.0220 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17357 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
  2. 5.1131 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17357 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
  3. 4.3147 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17354 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
  4. 4.3170 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17352 days ago · 219 km deep · 98 km away
  5. 5.0149 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17351 days ago · 70 km deep · 84 km away
  6. 4.5148 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17351 days ago · 69 km deep · 96 km away
  7. 5.4191 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17307 days ago · 28 km deep · 30 km away
  8. 5.3193 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17306 days ago · 36 km deep · 33 km away
  9. 4.6195 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17306 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
  10. 5.4198 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17306 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
  11. 4.3208 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17306 days ago · 60 km deep · 9 km away
  12. 4.6204 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17303 days ago · 47 km deep · 11 km away

Before

  1. 4.8135 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17358 days ago · 122 km deep · 76 km away
  2. 4.5Santa Cruz Islands · 17379 days ago · 206 km deep · 89 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000zdm (also filed as gcmtb031679a, gcmt19790316041232, iscgem668267). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:17 AM UTC.