M4.9 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Wed, Oct 17, 1979, 7:45 AM GMT+13 (18:45 UTC), 571 km (355 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 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
- 4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-10-16 18:45:26 UTC
- Depth
- 571.0 km (354.8 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 20.834° S, 178.631° 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
- 36
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.4Fiji region · 17146 days ago · 586 km deep · 67 km away
- 5.3Fiji region · 17139 days ago · 607 km deep · 47 km away
- 5.7Fiji region · 17132 days ago · 589 km deep · 35 km away
- 5.4Fiji region · 17110 days ago · 655 km deep · 54 km away
- 5.0Fiji region · 17099 days ago · 592 km deep · 21 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00013gh. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 1:04 AM UTC.