M6.0 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Wed, Nov 30, 1983, 12:41 PM GMT+13 (23:41 UTC), 525 km (326 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.0 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1983-11-29 23:41:07 UTC
- Depth
- 525.0 km (326.2 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 19.503° S, 177.783° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.98 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt at Lami. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-WAVES NP1:STRIKE=170;DIP=66;SLIP=-90 NP2:STRIKE=350;DIP=24;SLIP=-90 PRINCIPAL AXES: (T) PLG=21; AZM=260 (P) PLG=69; AZM=80 COMMENT: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to normal faulting. The preferred fault plane is NP1. MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION NO OF STA 12 SCALE 10**25 D-CM DEPTH 527 PRINCIPAL AXES: (T) VAL=1.50; PLG=6; AZM=270 (N) VAL=-0.39; PLG=24; AZM=177 (P) VAL=-1.11; PLG=65; AZM=14 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:Mo=1.3*10**25 NP1:STRIKE=24;DIP=44;SLIP=-55 NP2:STRIKE=160;DIP=56;SLIP=-119 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION HARVARD EVENT-FILE NAME B112983D DATA USED: GDSN L.P. BODY WAVES: 19S, 43C, T=45 CENTROID LOCATION: ORIGIN TIME 23:41:12.4 0.2 LAT 19.19S 0.02;LON 177.97W 0.02 DEP 540.0 1.4;HALF-DURATION 3.8 MOMENT TENSOR; SCALE 10**25 D-CM MRR=-1.03 0.02; MTT=0.06 0.03 MFF=0.97 0.03; MRT=-0.26 0.04 MRF=0.53 0.03; MTF=0.12 0.03 PRINCIPAL AXES: 1.(T) VAL=1.10;PLG=14;AZM=273 2.(N) 0.12; 12; 180 3.(P) -1.22; 71; 49 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:M0=1.2*10**25 NP1:STRIKE=20;DIP=33;SLIP=-67 NP2:Strike=172;Dip=60;Slip=-104
From the USGS event page for usp0002056. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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 3.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.5274 km ESE of Levuka, Fiji · 15642 days ago · 627 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.4Fiji region · 15625 days ago · 599 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.7Fiji region · 15622 days ago · 426 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.9Fiji region · 15610 days ago · 588 km deep · 37 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002056 (also filed as gcmtb112983d, gcmt19831129234107, iscgem565726). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 2:48 PM UTC.