M4.8 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Fri, Feb 3, 1978, 8:40 PM GMT+13 (07:40 UTC), 506 km (314 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-02-03 07:40:29 UTC
- Depth
- 506.0 km (314.4 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 20.476° S, 178.013° 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
- 19
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5Fiji region · 17762 days ago · 624 km deep · 65 km away
- 5.4Fiji region · 17759 days ago · 578 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.9295 km SE of Levuka, Fiji · 17748 days ago · 640 km deep · 100 km away
- 5.4Fiji region · 17747 days ago · 605 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.6Fiji region · 17732 days ago · 437 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.6264 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 17711 days ago · 487 km deep · 47 km away
- 5.5296 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 17711 days ago · 550 km deep · 4 km away
- 4.5Fiji region · 17708 days ago · 538 km deep · 26 km away
- 5.0278 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 17706 days ago · 383 km deep · 67 km away
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000str. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:05 AM UTC.