QuakeScout
Magnitude4.5

Reviewed by USGS7y ago

M4.5 earthquake in Fiji region

Friday, April 5, 2019, 00:04:39 UTC · 20.880°S, 178.478°W

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in Fiji region on Friday, April 5, 2019, 00:04:39 UTC, at a depth of 579.9 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on April 3, 2019.

Magnitude
4.5
Light · mb
Depth
580 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

85 tons of TNT

That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

224 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: deep

580 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on May 3, 2019. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.5
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.6Fiji region7y ago · 23 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 4.3Fiji region7y ago · 17 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 4.5Fiji region7y ago · 10 km E of this epicenter
  4. 4.4Fiji region7y ago · 20 km N of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,414 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 179 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 223 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 141 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 138 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 40 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.4Fiji regionAugust 5, 1996 · 27 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.4292 km SW of Vaini, TongaMay 23, 2013 · 269 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.3227 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaApril 16, 1937 · 125 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1937M8.1

    Fiji Islands

    16 Apr 1937 · 168 km away

  2. 1919M7.8

    Fiji Islands

    1 Jan 1919 · 179 km away

    tsunami

  3. 1997M7.7

    Tonga Islands

    14 Oct 1997 · 223 km away

    tsunami

  4. 2002M7.7

    Fiji Islands

    19 Aug 2002 · 141 km away

  5. 1957M7.5

    Fiji Islands

    28 Sep 1957 · 53 km away

  6. 1907

    S Of Tonga

    1907 · 287 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages