M5.0 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Mon, Dec 22, 1980, 3:02 PM GMT+13 (02:02 UTC), 579 km (360 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 279 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga. 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), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-12-22 02:02:11 UTC
- Depth
- 579.0 km (359.8 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 20.729° S, 178.416° 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.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 51
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bd5. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:27 PM UTC.