Fiji earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake Fiji region

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Mon, Feb 20, 1978, 9:23 AM GMT+13 (20:23 UTC), 605 km (376 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.7 Fiji region. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Fiji

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.4 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1978-02-19 20:23:53 UTC
Depth
605.0 km (375.9 mi), deep
Epicenter
20.906° S, 178.751° 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
103

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.2Fiji region · 17732 days ago · 620 km deep · 22 km away
  2. 4.6Fiji region · 17732 days ago · 437 km deep · 68 km away
  3. 5.7Fiji region · 17713 days ago · 595 km deep · 16 km away
  4. 5.4Fiji region · 17712 days ago · 628 km deep · 53 km away
  5. 5.0Fiji region · 17712 days ago · 565 km deep · 38 km away
  6. 5.5296 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 17711 days ago · 550 km deep · 94 km away
  7. 4.5Fiji region · 17708 days ago · 538 km deep · 65 km away
  8. 5.1Fiji region · 17692 days ago · 543 km deep · 29 km away
  9. 4.5Fiji region · 17692 days ago · 557 km deep · 69 km away

Before

  1. 4.9295 km SE of Levuka, Fiji · 17748 days ago · 640 km deep · 89 km away
  2. 4.5Fiji region · 17763 days ago · 624 km deep · 31 km away
  3. 4.8Fiji region · 17763 days ago · 506 km deep · 90 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000t1t (also filed as gcmtb021978c, gcmt19780219202353, iscgem686711). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:17 AM UTC.