M4.6 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Mon, Jul 20, 1981, 4:04 PM GMT+13 (03:04 UTC), 541 km (336 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 297 km NW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. 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), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-07-20 03:04:11 UTC
- Depth
- 541.3 km (336.3 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 19.504° S, 177.743° 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.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.0297 km NW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga · 16498 days ago · 380 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.9Fiji region · 16481 days ago · 423 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.4Fiji region · 16460 days ago · 446 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.7Fiji region · 16452 days ago · 355 km deep · 9 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001etr. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 7:30 PM UTC.