QuakeScout
Magnitude3.9

Reviewed by USGSFiji29y ago

M3.9 earthquake 117 km NE of Labasa, Fiji

Tuesday, January 20, 1998, 08:16:20 UTC · 15.750°S, 179.792°W

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 117 km NE of Labasa, Fiji on Tuesday, January 20, 1998, 08:16:20 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.9
Minor · mb
Depth
33 km
Shallow
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

11 tons of TNT

That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

20 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Balmoral Reef and Australian 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 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 513 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 284 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.6144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaMay 23, 1956 · 112 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 294 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 265 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 282 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.0217 km ENE of Levuka, FijiAugust 25, 1963 · 240 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.085 km SW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaJanuary 19, 1967 · 153 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 6.9130 km ENE of Labasa, FijiDecember 26, 1949 · 29 km SE 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:

  1. 1993M6.4

    Futuna Island

    12 Mar 1993 · 224 km away

    5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1919M6.9

    Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu

    3 Oct 1919 · 76 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  3. 1979M6.9

    Fiji Islands

    16 Nov 1979 · 114 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1932M6.4

    Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu

    8 Mar 1932 · 276 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1884

    Macuata

    Jan 1884 · 132 km away · intensity VII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1909M7.8

    Fiji Islands

    22 Feb 1909 · 264 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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