Reviewed by USGS53y ago
M4.0 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands
Sunday, December 30, 1973, 09:00:39 UTC · 24.066°S, 179.927°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Sunday, December 30, 1973, 09:00:39 UTC, at a depth of 569.0 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 569 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
265 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
569 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on January 1, 1974. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 61 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3Fiji regionMay 25, 1944 · 284 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3south of the Fiji IslandsMarch 30, 1972 · 195 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 10, 1969 · 181 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1Fiji regionFebruary 25, 1915 · 268 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 28, 1964 · 221 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsAugust 12, 1967 · 287 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7Fiji regionJanuary 24, 1969 · 250 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 15, 1971 · 197 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1932M7.9
Kermadec Islands
26 May 1932 · 176 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.