QuakeScout
Magnitude4.3

Reviewed by USGSFiji7y ago

M4.3 earthquake 225 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji

Sunday, June 16, 2019, 14:59:16 UTC · 17.523°S, 178.635°W

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 225 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji on Sunday, June 16, 2019, 14:59:16 UTC, at a depth of 558.7 km (deep).

Magnitude
4.3
Light · mb
Depth
559 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

43 tons of TNT

That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

179 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

559 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 50 km

USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on July 13, 2019. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.3
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.2237 km E of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 48 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 4.4231 km E of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 41 km S of this epicenter
  3. 4.2228 km E of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 27 km S of this epicenter
  4. 4.4254 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 33 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 4.3210 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 27 km NW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,241 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.22018 Fiji EarthquakeAugust 19, 2018 · 83 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.945 km S of Levuka, FijiSeptember 6, 2018 · 238 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 208 km S of this epicenter
  4. 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 84 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.6144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaMay 23, 1956 · 233 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 62 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 34 km S of this epicenter
  8. 7.2Fiji regionMarch 31, 1907 · 189 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1919M6.9

    Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu

    3 Oct 1919 · 191 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  2. 1979M6.9

    Fiji Islands

    16 Nov 1979 · 167 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1932M6.4

    Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu

    8 Mar 1932 · 186 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 2018M8.2

    Fiji Islands

    19 Aug 2018 · 83 km away · intensity V

    tsunami

  5. 2018M7.9

    Fiji Islands

    6 Sep 2018 · 238 km away · intensity VII

  6. 1909M7.8

    Fiji Islands

    22 Feb 1909 · 66 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages