Reviewed by USGSFiji34y ago
M6.7 earthquake 126 km NE of Labasa, Fiji
Sunday, November 8, 1992, 03:43:20 UTC · 15.727°S, 179.703°W
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 126 km NE of Labasa, Fiji on Sunday, November 8, 1992, 03:43:20 UTC, at a depth of 9.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on September 17, 1983.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
21 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 458 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 284 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaMay 23, 1956 · 102 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 281 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0217 km ENE of Levuka, FijiAugust 25, 1963 · 238 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaJanuary 19, 1967 · 145 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9130 km ENE of Labasa, FijiDecember 26, 1949 · 23 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.978 km ESE of Labasa, FijiNovember 16, 1979 · 119 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1919M6.9
Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu
3 Oct 1919 · 81 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1979M6.9
Fiji Islands
16 Nov 1979 · 119 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M6.4
Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu
8 Mar 1932 · 281 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1884
Macuata
Jan 1884 · 142 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 264 km away
- 1956M7.5
Fiji Islands
23 May 1956 · 111 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.