M4.9 earthquake 63 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 63 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sun, Oct 28, 1979, 3:24 AM GMT+11 (16:24 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.1 114 km WNW 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
- 4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-10-27 16:24:56 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.729° S, 166.982° 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
- 12
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.1114 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17137 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 5.0123 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17136 days ago · 36 km deep · 60 km away
- 6.1108 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17129 days ago · 45 km deep · 55 km away
- 3.9122 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17129 days ago · 67 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.6108 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17128 days ago · 57 km deep · 50 km away
- 4.999 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17096 days ago · 194 km deep · 64 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00013r2. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 3:26 AM UTC.