Reviewed by USGSFiji40y ago
M4.9 earthquake 233 km SSE of Suva, Fiji
Monday, June 9, 1986, 00:48:18 UTC · 20.208°S, 178.879°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 233 km SSE of Suva, Fiji on Monday, June 9, 1986, 00:48:18 UTC, at a depth of 547.5 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on June 5, 1986.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 548 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
307 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Conway Reef plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
548 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 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 294 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Fiji regionMay 25, 1944 · 232 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2Fiji regionOctober 9, 1967 · 229 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 10, 1969 · 288 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1Fiji regionFebruary 25, 1915 · 249 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1Fiji regionJanuary 27, 1948 · 268 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1Fiji regionMay 4, 1924 · 273 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1230 km S of Suva, FijiMay 26, 1986 · 3 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 48 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1840
Kadavu
1840 · 163 km away · intensity VIII
40 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1953M6.4
Fiji Islands
14 Sep 1953 · 224 km away
8 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1932M6.4
Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu
8 Mar 1932 · 242 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1957M7.5
Fiji Islands
28 Sep 1957 · 274 km away
- 1975M4.9
Fiji Islands
16 Dec 1975 · 176 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.