QuakeScout
Magnitude4.3

Reviewed by USGSFiji28y ago

M4.3 earthquake 157 km ESE of Labasa, Fiji

Tuesday, August 4, 1998, 06:23:07 UTC · 17.111°S, 179.332°W

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 157 km ESE of Labasa, Fiji on Tuesday, August 4, 1998, 06:23:07 UTC, at a depth of 550.0 km (deep).

Magnitude
4.3
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

43 tons of TNT

That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

175 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific 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 701 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 279 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 125 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.6144 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and FutunaMay 23, 1956 · 195 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 142 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 114 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.2Fiji regionMarch 31, 1907 · 275 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.2178 km ENE of Levuka, FijiMarch 29, 1998 · 55 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.1217 km E of Levuka, FijiJuly 8, 1916 · 127 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1953M6.4

    Fiji Islands

    14 Sep 1953 · 293 km away

    8 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1919M6.9

    Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu

    3 Oct 1919 · 106 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  3. 1979M6.9

    Fiji Islands

    16 Nov 1979 · 80 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1932M6.4

    Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu

    8 Mar 1932 · 155 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1884

    Macuata

    Jan 1884 · 216 km away · intensity VII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1909M7.8

    Fiji Islands

    22 Feb 1909 · 105 km away

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

Nearby trackers

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