Reviewed by USGS79y ago
M7.1 earthquake in Fiji region
Tuesday, January 27, 1948, 11:58:30 UTC · 20.222°S, 178.557°W
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck in Fiji region on Tuesday, January 27, 1948, 11:58:30 UTC, at a depth of 595.0 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on May 25, 1944.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 595 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
674 kilotons of TNT
That is about 45 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,413 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
237 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Niuafo'ou and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
595 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 112 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 231 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 268 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3227 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaApril 16, 1937 · 136 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Fiji regionMay 25, 1944 · 176 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2241 km WNW of Houma, TongaAugust 21, 1911 · 137 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2280 km WNW of Houma, TongaDecember 14, 1910 · 75 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Fiji regionMarch 31, 1907 · 291 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1932M6.4
Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu
8 Mar 1932 · 287 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 215 km away
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 251 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 112 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.