Reviewed by USGSFiji29y ago
M4.1 earthquake 131 km ENE of Labasa, Fiji
Monday, January 12, 1998, 22:19:39 UTC · 16.182°S, 179.434°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 131 km ENE of Labasa, Fiji on Monday, January 12, 1998, 22:19:39 UTC, at a depth of 200.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 200 km
- Intermediate
- 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
72 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: intermediate
200 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on January 14, 1998. 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 641 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 · 228 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaMay 23, 1956 · 107 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 233 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 205 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 223 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0217 km ENE of Levuka, FijiAugust 25, 1963 · 179 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaJanuary 19, 1967 · 170 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9130 km ENE of Labasa, FijiDecember 26, 1949 · 36 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1993M6.4
Futuna Island
12 Mar 1993 · 237 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1919M6.9
Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu
3 Oct 1919 · 65 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1979M6.9
Fiji Islands
16 Nov 1979 · 87 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M6.4
Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu
8 Mar 1932 · 240 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1884
Macuata
Jan 1884 · 169 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 207 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.