Reviewed by USGS24y ago
M7.7 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands
Monday, August 19, 2002, 11:08:24 UTC · 23.884°S, 178.495°E
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Monday, August 19, 2002, 11:08:24 UTC, at a depth of 675.4 km (deep). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- Major · mwc
- Depth
- 675 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: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
5.4 megatons of TNT
That is about 355 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11,220 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
385 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Conway Reef plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
675 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 200 km
USGS lists 22 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on August 19, 2002. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.3south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 48 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.3south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 175 km E of this epicenter
- 4.7south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 190 km N of this epicenter
- 6.0south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 125 km N of this epicenter
- 5.5south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 180 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.1south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 122 km E of this epicenter
- 5.4south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 167 km E of this epicenter
- 4.2south of the Fiji Islands24y ago · 133 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 602 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 · 245 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 10, 1969 · 125 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9south of the Fiji IslandsMay 16, 1998 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8south of the Fiji IslandsSeptember 4, 1997 · 299 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 28, 1964 · 270 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsOctober 27, 1994 · 227 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7south of the Fiji IslandsAugust 7, 1993 · 137 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5south of the Fiji IslandsFebruary 15, 1971 · 148 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1932M7.9
Kermadec Islands
26 May 1932 · 193 km away
- 2002M7.7
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2002 · 0 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.