Reviewed by USGS30y ago
M4.4 earthquake in Fiji region
Monday, December 23, 1996, 15:21:47 UTC · 19.719°S, 177.710°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck in Fiji region on Monday, December 23, 1996, 15:21:47 UTC, at a depth of 550.0 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 550 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
133 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Niuafo'ou and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
550 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 1,207 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 285 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 192 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 59 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 217 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 201 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 49 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 229 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 113 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 211 km away
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 285 km away
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 234 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 59 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 181 km away · intensity VI
- 1994M7.6
Fiji Islands
9 Mar 1994 · 201 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.