M4.6 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Tue, Dec 18, 1979, 8:47 PM GMT+12 (08:47 UTC), 609 km (378 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 209 km E of Levuka, Fiji. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-12-18 08:47:08 UTC
- Depth
- 609.0 km (378.4 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 17.441° S, 178.995° 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
- 20
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9241 km E of Levuka, Fiji · 17075 days ago · 563 km deep · 78 km away
- 5.3209 km E of Levuka, Fiji · 17073 days ago · 568 km deep · 49 km away
- 5.0226 km E of Levuka, Fiji · 17031 days ago · 547 km deep · 74 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00014k3. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 12:50 AM UTC.