QuakeScout
Magnitude4.3

Reviewed by USGSFiji47y ago

M4.3 earthquake 91 km SE of Labasa, Fiji

Sunday, November 25, 1979, 14:20:17 UTC · 17.025°S, 179.957°E

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 91 km SE of Labasa, Fiji on Sunday, November 25, 1979, 14:20:17 UTC, at a depth of 231.0 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
4.3
Light · mb
Depth
231 km
Intermediate
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

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

152 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: intermediate

231 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 218 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 170 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.6144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaMay 23, 1956 · 221 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 181 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 187 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.0217 km ENE of Levuka, FijiAugust 25, 1963 · 159 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.085 km SW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaJanuary 19, 1967 · 283 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 6.9130 km ENE of Labasa, FijiDecember 26, 1949 · 138 km N of this epicenter
  8. 6.978 km ESE of Labasa, FijiNovember 16, 1979 · 30 km N 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, which together caused about 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1953M6.4

    Fiji Islands

    14 Sep 1953 · 234 km away

    8 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1919M6.9

    Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu

    3 Oct 1919 · 70 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  3. 1979M6.9

    Fiji Islands

    16 Nov 1979 · 30 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1932M6.4

    Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu

    8 Mar 1932 · 132 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1884

    Macuata

    Jan 1884 · 153 km away · intensity VII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1909M7.8

    Fiji Islands

    22 Feb 1909 · 155 km away

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

Nearby trackers

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