M4.3 earthquake 208 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 208 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sun, May 6, 1979, 6:24 PM GMT+11 (07:24 UTC), 60 km (37 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 204 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands. 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
- 1979-05-06 07:24:19 UTC
- Depth
- 60.0 km (37.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 12.598° S, 166.137° 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
- 12
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6204 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17304 days ago · 47 km deep · 10 km away
- 4.7131 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17271 days ago · 249 km deep · 89 km away
Before
- 5.4198 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17307 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
- 4.6195 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17307 days ago · 33 km deep · 16 km away
- 5.3193 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17307 days ago · 36 km deep · 24 km away
- 5.4191 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17307 days ago · 28 km deep · 22 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00010fr. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC.