M5.4 earthquake 231 km E of Levuka, Fiji
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 231 km E of Levuka, Fiji on Sun, Aug 30, 1981, 11:36 PM GMT+12 (11:36 UTC), 609 km (378 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 148 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
- 5.4 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-08-30 11:36:20 UTC
- Depth
- 609.0 km (378.4 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 17.968° S, 178.504° W
- Region
- Fiji
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 31 stations |
| 5.33 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.3 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
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
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.8229 km E of Levuka, Fiji · 16443 days ago · 536 km deep · 8 km away
- 5.0232 km ENE of Levuka, Fiji · 16426 days ago · 572 km deep · 46 km away
- 5.6148 km E of Levuka, Fiji · 16421 days ago · 636 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.5213 km E of Levuka, Fiji · 16412 days ago · 569 km deep · 17 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001fjy (also filed as gcmtb083081a, gcmt19810830113620, iscgem613755). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 3:11 AM UTC.