QuakeScout
Magnitude4.1

Reviewed by USGSFiji7y ago

M4.1 earthquake 206 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji

Sunday, May 5, 2019, 03:00:26 UTC · 17.343°S, 178.888°W

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 206 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji on Sunday, May 5, 2019, 03:00:26 UTC, at a depth of 538.5 km (deep).

Magnitude
4.1
Light · mb
Depth
538 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

21 tons of TNT

That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

182 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

538 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on May 7, 2019. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.1
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.2227 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 23 km E of this epicenter
  2. 4.2206 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 32 km S of this epicenter
  3. 4.4199 km E of Levuka, Fiji7y ago · 45 km S of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,163 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 · 116 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.945 km S of Levuka, FijiSeptember 6, 2018 · 225 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 236 km S of this epicenter
  4. 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 95 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.6144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaMay 23, 1956 · 212 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 92 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 64 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.377 km ENE of Ba, FijiNovember 9, 2009 · 295 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 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 · 158 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  2. 1979M6.9

    Fiji Islands

    16 Nov 1979 · 133 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1932M6.4

    Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu

    8 Mar 1932 · 172 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1884

    Macuata

    Jan 1884 · 270 km away · intensity VII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 2018M8.2

    Fiji Islands

    19 Aug 2018 · 116 km away · intensity V

    tsunami

  6. 2018M7.9

    Fiji Islands

    6 Sep 2018 · 225 km away · intensity VII

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages