Reviewed by USGS37y ago
M7.6 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands
Saturday, March 3, 1990, 12:16:27 UTC · 22.122°S, 175.163°E
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Saturday, March 3, 1990, 12:16:27 UTC, at a depth of 33.2 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- IV
- Light (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3.8 megatons of TNT
That is about 252 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7,943 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
30 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Conway Reef plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 200 km
USGS lists 34 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.6 on March 3, 1990. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 5.4south of the Fiji Islands37y ago · 35 km N of this epicenter
- 4.9southeast of the Loyalty Islands37y ago · 111 km W of this epicenter
- 4.3south of the Fiji Islands37y ago · 135 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.4Vanuatu region37y ago · 114 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.7south of the Fiji Islands37y ago · 12 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.2southeast of the Loyalty Islands37y ago · 22 km W of this epicenter
- 5.1south of the Fiji Islands37y ago · 102 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.5south of the Fiji Islands37y ago · 125 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 63 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.8south of the Fiji IslandsNovember 7, 1988 · 20 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7southeast of the Loyalty IslandsJune 14, 1905 · 280 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.6southeast of the Loyalty IslandsJuly 23, 1988 · 27 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6Vanuatu regionNovember 4, 1934 · 62 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5266 km S of Nadi, FijiMarch 15, 1920 · 295 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 4, 1934 · 66 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5Vanuatu regionMarch 10, 1948 · 186 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5south of the Fiji IslandsApril 20, 1938 · 15 km S 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:
- 1990M7.6
Fiji Islands
3 Mar 1990 · 0 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.