Fiji earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake Fiji region

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Wed, Dec 20, 1972, 5:53 AM GMT-12 (17:53 UTC), 595 km (370 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.5 (mw), moderate
Local time
UTC
1972-12-20 17:53:18 UTC
Depth
595.0 km (369.7 mi), deep
Epicenter
21.817° S, 179.423° W
Region
Fiji
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

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
±0.31
Depth from
From location

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.2Fiji region · 19601 days ago · 570 km deep · 44 km away

Before

  1. 5.6south of the Fiji Islands · 19636 days ago · 560 km deep · 45 km away
  2. 5.7south of the Fiji Islands · 19658 days ago · 600 km deep · 41 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem766448. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC.