Reviewed by USGS42y ago
M5.0 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands
Saturday, November 3, 1984, 06:32:04 UTC · 23.888°S, 179.742°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Saturday, November 3, 1984, 06:32:04 UTC, at a depth of 510.6 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on October 30, 1984.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 511 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
236 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
511 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 75 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on November 26, 1984. 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 394 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3Fiji regionMay 25, 1944 · 259 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3south of the Fiji IslandsMarch 30, 1972 · 221 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 10, 1969 · 190 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1Fiji regionFebruary 25, 1915 · 242 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 28, 1964 · 199 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsAugust 12, 1967 · 261 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsApril 13, 1980 · 253 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7Fiji regionJanuary 24, 1969 · 224 km N 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 · 209 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.