M5.8 earthquake Fiji region
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Sun, Apr 19, 1987, 9:31 PM GMT-12 (09:31 UTC), 570 km (354 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-04-20 09:31:37 UTC
- Depth
- 570.1 km (354.2 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 21.654° S, 179.137° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.79 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.8 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 15S, 35C Centroid Location: Origin Time 09:31:46.4 0.4 Lat 21.65S 0.03 Lon 179.17W 0.04 Dep 600.6 1.9 Half-duration 3.0 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=-0.63 0.10 Mtt=1.25 0.15 Mff=-0.61 0.15 Mrt=0.05 0.14 Mrf=-5.69 0.15 Mtf=-1.34 0.13 Principal Axes: (T) Val=5.31 Plg=42 Azm=71 (N) Val=1.11 Plg=15 Azm=175 (P) Val=-6.42 Plg=44 Azm=280 Best Double Couple:Mo=5.9*10**17 NP1:Strike=89 Dip=15 Slip=-176 NP2:Strike=355 Dip=89 Slip=-75
From the USGS event page for usp00034ac. 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.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7south of the Fiji Islands · 14385 days ago · 585 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.8Fiji region · 14382 days ago · 626 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.8south of the Fiji Islands · 14371 days ago · 494 km deep · 70 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayFiji earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00034ac (also filed as gcmtb042087a, gcmt19870420093140, iscgem469587). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 6:47 AM UTC.