M4.9 earthquake 99 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 99 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Thu, Dec 13, 1979, 12:10 PM GMT+11 (01:10 UTC), 194 km (121 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 97 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), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-12-13 01:10:52 UTC
- Depth
- 194.0 km (120.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 13.150° S, 167.002° 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
- 48
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.197 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17066 days ago · 60 km deep · 45 km away
- 4.9112 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17045 days ago · 45 km deep · 53 km away
- 5.2110 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu · 17043 days ago · 33 km deep · 74 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00014fm. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:17 AM UTC.