M4.9 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Thu, Sep 28, 1978, 2:48 AM GMT-12 (14:48 UTC), 584 km (363 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 south of the Fiji Islands. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-09-28 14:48:42 UTC
- Depth
- 584.0 km (362.9 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 21.961° S, 179.664° 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
- 33
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.0south of the Fiji Islands · 17519 days ago · 582 km deep · 39 km away
- 5.0south of the Fiji Islands · 17505 days ago · 569 km deep · 73 km away
- 4.7Fiji region · 17481 days ago · 612 km deep · 41 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000wsc. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 11:57 PM UTC.