Fiji earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 127 km E of Levuka, Fiji

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 127 km E of Levuka, Fiji on Sun, Dec 28, 2014, 7:53 AM GMT+13 (18:53 UTC), 622 km (386 mi) below the surface.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.5 (Mwb, body-wave moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sun, Dec 28, 2014, 7:53 AM GMT+13
UTC: 2014-12-27 18:53:47 UTC
Depth: 621.8 km (386.3 mi), deep
Epicenter: 17.926° S, 179.490° W
Region: Fiji
Strongest shaking: II, weak shaking
PAGER alert: Green
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
5.5	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.069 · 20 stations
5.48	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.5	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: II, weak shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Estimated impact

The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.

Alert level: Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Oblique normal
Moment magnitude: 5.5 Mwc
Nodal plane 1: Strike 303°, dip 76°, rake -52°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 49°, dip 40°, rake -158°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 6.1 km horizontally, 4.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.07
Depth from: FROM_LOCATION
Station coverage gap: 27°
Stations used: 197

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Labasa, FijiPopulation 27,949. Forecast206 kmSE

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 16 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Fiji earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usc000taa1 (also filed as gcmt20141227185347, iscgem610574847). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 3:23 AM UTC.