QuakeScout
Magnitude4.4

Reviewed by USGSFiji21y ago

M4.4 earthquake 272 km E of Levuka, Fiji

Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 08:21:28 UTC · 18.100°S, 178.107°W

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 272 km E of Levuka, Fiji on Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 08:21:28 UTC, at a depth of 606.3 km (deep).

Magnitude
4.4
Light · mb
Depth
606 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: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

60 tons of TNT

That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

175 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Niuafo'ou and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: deep

606 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 lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on March 13, 2005. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.4
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.1293 km E of Levuka, Fiji21y ago · 21 km E of this epicenter
  2. 4.2265 km E of Levuka, Fiji21y ago · 17 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 3.9279 km E of Levuka, Fiji21y ago · 29 km N of this epicenter
  4. 4.6235 km E of Levuka, Fiji21y ago · 48 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 4.6288 km E of Levuka, Fiji21y ago · 19 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 4.5254 km E of Levuka, Fiji21y ago · 34 km NW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,107 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 295 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 135 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 95 km W of this epicenter
  4. 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 33 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 231 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 56 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 273 km S of this epicenter
  8. 7.4Fiji regionAugust 5, 1996 · 289 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

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

  1. 1919M6.9

    Rabi,Tunuloa Mission,Suvasavu

    3 Oct 1919 · 276 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  2. 1979M6.9

    Fiji Islands

    16 Nov 1979 · 249 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1932M6.4

    Koro,Mudu,Suvasavu

    8 Mar 1932 · 226 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1909M7.8

    Fiji Islands

    22 Feb 1909 · 95 km away

  5. 1919M7.8

    Fiji Islands

    1 Jan 1919 · 135 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1950M7.7

    Tonga Islands

    14 Dec 1950 · 271 km away · intensity VI

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

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