Reviewed by USGSFiji108y ago
M6.5 earthquake 102 km ESE of Labasa, Fiji
Friday, October 3, 1919, 09:37:24 UTC · 16.845°S, 179.778°W
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 102 km ESE of Labasa, Fiji on Friday, October 3, 1919, 09:37:24 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on July 8, 1916.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- 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
71 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 150 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
137 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 171 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 169 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 180 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.584 km S of Alo, Wallis and FutunaMay 31, 1907 · 257 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.4225 km S of Alo, Wallis and FutunaJune 4, 1918 · 149 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3292 km S of Alo, Wallis and FutunaMay 8, 1919 · 228 km E 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:
- 1919M6.9
Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu
3 Oct 1919 · 55 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1884
Macuata
Jan 1884 · 161 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 153 km away
- 1881
Fiji Islands
12 Jul 1881 · 161 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.