M4.5 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Tue, Dec 31, 1985, 7:05 AM GMT-12 (19:05 UTC), 598 km (372 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 south of the Fiji Islands. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-12-31 19:05:52 UTC
- Depth
- 598.4 km (371.8 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 21.834° S, 179.663° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9south of the Fiji Islands · 14835 days ago · 601 km deep · 39 km away
- 5.8south of the Fiji Islands · 14824 days ago · 602 km deep · 27 km away
- 4.9Fiji region · 14822 days ago · 605 km deep · 18 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002pn4. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:04 AM UTC.