Reviewed by USGSFiji95y ago
M6.4 earthquake 48 km ESE of Levuka, Fiji
Tuesday, March 8, 1932, 18:01:11 UTC · 18.198°S, 179.753°E
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 48 km ESE of Levuka, Fiji on Tuesday, March 8, 1932, 18:01:11 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on February 16, 1932.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
54 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 114 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
269 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Balmoral Reef and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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 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 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 260 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 132 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 185 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 172 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7179 km ENE of Levuka, FijiJune 21, 1928 · 150 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.598 km NE of Labasa, FijiJuly 12, 1923 · 270 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5122 km S of Nadi, FijiApril 25, 1921 · 245 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5209 km SSE of Suva, FijiJanuary 22, 1923 · 213 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 40 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1840
Kadavu
1840 · 205 km away · intensity VIII
40 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1919M6.9
Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu
3 Oct 1919 · 202 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1932M6.4
Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu
8 Mar 1932 · 0 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1884
Macuata
Jan 1884 · 257 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 134 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 260 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.