Reviewed by USGS22y ago
M4.7 earthquake in Fiji region
Friday, December 17, 2004, 10:32:26 UTC · 21.757°S, 179.251°W
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck in Fiji region on Friday, December 17, 2004, 10:32:26 UTC, at a depth of 564.6 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on December 17, 2004.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 565 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
271 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
565 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 1,112 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 259 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 28 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 263 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 164 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionAugust 5, 1996 · 154 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3227 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaApril 16, 1937 · 239 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Fiji regionMay 25, 1944 · 28 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 234 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 297 km away
tsunami
- 1997M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Oct 1997 · 259 km away
tsunami
- 2002M7.7
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2002 · 28 km away
- 1957M7.5
Fiji Islands
28 Sep 1957 · 170 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.