QuakeScout
Magnitude5.0

Reviewed by USGS19y ago

M5.0 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands

Monday, December 24, 2007, 10:43:48 UTC · 26.680°S, 176.066°W

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands on Monday, December 24, 2007, 10:43:48 UTC, at a depth of 44.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on December 16, 2007.

Magnitude
5.0
Moderate · mwc
Depth
45 km
Shallow
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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 tons of TNT

That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

65 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

45 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

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 75 km

USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on December 28, 2007. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M5.0
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.6south of the Fiji Islands18y ago · 7 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 4.4Kermadec Islands region19y ago · 59 km S of this epicenter
  3. 4.4south of the Fiji Islands19y ago · 30 km W of this epicenter
  4. 4.6south of Tonga19y ago · 9 km E of this epicenter
  5. 4.8south of Tonga19y ago · 24 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 883 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 250 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.8south of TongaOctober 11, 1975 · 220 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.8south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 9, 2007 · 163 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 163 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.6south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 18, 1963 · 228 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 190 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 265 km SW of this epicenter
  8. 7.3south of the Fiji IslandsJanuary 20, 1970 · 144 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1986M8.1

    Raoul

    20 Oct 1986 · 163 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1917M8.0

    Kermadec Islands

    1 May 1917 · 295 km away

    tsunami

  3. 1955M7.8

    Kermadec Islands

    27 Feb 1955 · 157 km away

  4. 1975M7.8

    S Of Tonga

    11 Oct 1975 · 220 km away

  5. 2007M7.8

    Kermadec Islands

    9 Dec 2007 · 163 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1959M7.7

    Kermadec Islands

    14 Sep 1959 · 222 km away

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

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