Reviewed by USGS28y ago
M6.9 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands
Saturday, May 16, 1998, 02:22:03 UTC · 22.227°S, 179.519°W
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Saturday, May 16, 1998, 02:22:03 UTC, at a depth of 586.1 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on October 14, 1997.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · mwc
- Depth
- 586 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 kilotons of TNT
That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
281 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
586 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 100 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on June 12, 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 977 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 283 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 223 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionAugust 5, 1996 · 212 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3227 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaApril 16, 1937 · 291 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Fiji regionMay 25, 1944 · 73 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Fiji regionOctober 9, 1967 · 121 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 10, 1969 · 182 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2280 km WNW of Houma, TongaDecember 14, 1910 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 272 km away
- 1997M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Oct 1997 · 283 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.5
Fiji Islands
28 Sep 1957 · 229 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.