M6.4 earthquake 29 km SSW of Suva, Fiji
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 29 km SSW of Suva, Fiji on Mon, Sep 14, 1953, 12:26 PM GMT+12 (00:26 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1953-09-14 00:26:34 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.397° S, 178.354° E
- Region
- Fiji
- Strongest shaking
- VII, very strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 7443), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 3; 8 with its tsunami and other effects
- Injuries
- 61
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50) with its tsunami and other effects
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
From Wikipedia
The 1953 Suva earthquake occurred on 14 September at 00:26 UTC near Suva, Fiji, just off the southeast shore of Viti Levu. This earthquake had an estimated magnitude of Ms 6.8 and Mw 6.4. The earthquake triggered a coral reef platform collapse and a submarine landslide that caused a tsunami. Eight people were reported killed.
Text from Wikipedia, “1953 Suva earthquake”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted as written; the full article has the rest.
The article is about the earthquake NOAA’s record describes, matched to this one by date, place and magnitude.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VII, very strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 16.5% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.9 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.20
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.4 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
None recorded.
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem892001. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 7:56 PM UTC.