M4.8 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Mon, Dec 11, 1978, 1:56 AM GMT-12 (13:56 UTC), 695 km (432 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 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
- 1978-12-11 13:56:15 UTC
- Depth
- 695.0 km (431.9 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 20.917° S, 179.082° 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
- 11
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1Fiji region · 17446 days ago · 535 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.1Fiji region · 17428 days ago · 532 km deep · 84 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000xw7. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:10 AM UTC.