Reviewed by USGS29y ago
M5.1 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands
Thursday, September 4, 1997, 06:02:24 UTC · 26.176°S, 178.210°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Thursday, September 4, 1997, 06:02:24 UTC, at a depth of 627.6 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on September 4, 1997.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 628 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
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
378 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
628 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on September 13, 1997. 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 240 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3south of the Fiji IslandsMarch 30, 1972 · 152 km E of this epicenter
- 6.8south of the Fiji IslandsSeptember 4, 1997 · 45 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsOctober 27, 1994 · 121 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 15, 1971 · 110 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5south of the Fiji IslandsApril 28, 1911 · 44 km S of this epicenter
- 6.4south of the Fiji IslandsAugust 26, 1984 · 300 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3south of the Fiji IslandsJanuary 15, 1959 · 184 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 3, 1991 · 61 km SE 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 · 124 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.