Fiji earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake Fiji region

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Mon, Dec 23, 1985, 11:21 AM GMT+13 (22:21 UTC), 639 km (397 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.1 Fiji region. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Fiji

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
5.1 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1985-12-22 22:21:13 UTC
Depth
639.2 km (397.2 mi), deep
Epicenter
21.303° S, 179.040° 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 2.1 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 6.1Fiji region · 14880 days ago · 455 km deep · 66 km away
  2. 4.5Fiji region · 14879 days ago · 455 km deep · 70 km away
  3. 4.5Fiji region · 14875 days ago · 598 km deep · 87 km away
  4. 4.4Fiji region · 14868 days ago · 585 km deep · 40 km away
  5. 5.7Fiji region · 14868 days ago · 520 km deep · 45 km away
  6. 4.9Fiji region · 14849 days ago · 557 km deep · 99 km away
  7. 5.5Fiji region · 14830 days ago · 610 km deep · 39 km away
  8. 5.8south of the Fiji Islands · 14824 days ago · 602 km deep · 100 km away

Before

  1. 4.2Fiji region · 14886 days ago · 588 km deep · 13 km away
  2. 4.9Fiji region · 14900 days ago · 606 km deep · 84 km away
  3. 5.4Fiji region · 14906 days ago · 627 km deep · 26 km away
  4. 5.6Fiji region · 14909 days ago · 608 km deep · 25 km away

Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002p8y. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:25 AM UTC.