Reviewed by USGS77y ago
M6.8 earthquake in Fiji region
Friday, September 22, 1950, 23:53:32 UTC · 17.634°S, 177.295°W
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck in Fiji region on Friday, September 22, 1950, 23:53:32 UTC, at a depth of 400.4 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on June 18, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 400 km
- Deep
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
76 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Niuafo'ou and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: deep
400 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 30 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 205 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 191 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 134 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2241 km WNW of Houma, TongaAugust 21, 1911 · 264 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Fiji regionMarch 31, 1907 · 62 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 148 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0254 km WNW of Houma, TongaApril 20, 1910 · 292 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9171 km WNW of Neiafu, TongaJune 18, 1923 · 201 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 185 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 205 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 248 km away · intensity VI
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.