M4.8 earthquake Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in Vanuatu on Sat, Sep 22, 1979, 3:32 AM GMT+11 (16:32 UTC), 223 km (139 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 79 km NW of Isangel, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-09-21 16:32:09 UTC
- Depth
- 223.0 km (138.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.863° S, 169.106° 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
- 11
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000131q. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:33 AM UTC.