M5.0 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Fri, Mar 9, 1979, 2:59 PM GMT+13 (01:59 UTC), 570 km (354 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 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
- 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-03-09 01:59:38 UTC
- Depth
- 570.0 km (354.2 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 21.210° S, 178.766° 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
- 89
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4Fiji region · 17368 days ago · 621 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.5Fiji region · 17363 days ago · 552 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.8Fiji region · 17362 days ago · 532 km deep · 16 km away
- 5.3Fiji region · 17355 days ago · 558 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.8Fiji region · 17340 days ago · 576 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.8Fiji region · 17337 days ago · 633 km deep · 50 km away
- 4.9Fiji region · 17337 days ago · 648 km deep · 43 km away
- 6.0Fiji region · 17328 days ago · 599 km deep · 43 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000z7x. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:01 PM UTC.