Reviewed by USGS21y ago
M4.4 earthquake in Fiji region
Sunday, July 24, 2005, 17:29:38 UTC · 18.678°S, 177.405°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck in Fiji region on Sunday, July 24, 2005, 17:29:38 UTC, at a depth of 342.7 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 343 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
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
88 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Niuafo'ou and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: deep
343 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 1,323 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 292 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 101 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 177 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 128 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 157 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 154 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 230 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 292 km away
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 184 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 101 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 174 km away · intensity VI
- 1994M7.6
Fiji Islands
9 Mar 1994 · 128 km away
- 1957M7.5
Fiji Islands
28 Sep 1957 · 223 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.