M5.1 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Sun, Dec 18, 1977, 5:03 AM GMT+13 (16:03 UTC), 602 km (374 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 Fiji region. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-12-17 16:03:00 UTC
- Depth
- 602.0 km (374.1 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 21.048° S, 178.785° 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.
- Stations used
- 72
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4Fiji region · 17796 days ago · 373 km deep · 67 km away
- 5.4Fiji region · 17782 days ago · 619 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.5Fiji region · 17763 days ago · 624 km deep · 39 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000s47 (also filed as gcmtb121777b, gcmt19771217160300, iscgem689214). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:55 AM UTC.