Reviewed by USGS66y ago
M5.9 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands
Wednesday, November 23, 1960, 17:56:41 UTC · 24.349°S, 176.059°W
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Wednesday, November 23, 1960, 17:56:41 UTC, at a depth of 45.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on November 23, 1960.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 45 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 19 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
48 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Tonga plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
45 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M7.2 on November 24, 1960. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 45 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4south of TongaMarch 18, 1905 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0south of TongaJanuary 10, 1956 · 246 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsSeptember 8, 1920 · 31 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6south of the Fiji IslandsNovember 23, 1960 · 35 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5176 km SE of ‘Ohonua, TongaOctober 24, 1943 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5TongaFebruary 14, 1930 · 292 km N of this epicenter
- 6.4283 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, TongaSeptember 30, 1949 · 74 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3south of the Fiji IslandsJune 9, 1931 · 73 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1956M7.0
Tonga Islands
10 Jan 1956 · 201 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.