Vanuatu earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 170 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 170 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Mon, Dec 10, 1979, 12:06 AM GMT+11 (13:06 UTC), 98 km (61 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.3 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1979-12-09 13:06:53 UTC
Depth
98.0 km (60.9 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
12.650° S, 166.604° 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
75

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.999 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17094 days ago · 194 km deep · 70 km away
  2. 5.1175 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 17077 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
  3. 5.197 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17074 days ago · 60 km deep · 93 km away
  4. 4.9112 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17054 days ago · 45 km deep · 88 km away

Before

  1. 4.6108 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17126 days ago · 57 km deep · 81 km away
  2. 3.9122 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17127 days ago · 67 km deep · 83 km away
  3. 6.1108 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17127 days ago · 45 km deep · 73 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00014dv (also filed as iscgem653933). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 6:38 PM UTC.