Fiji earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake Fiji region

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Sun, Dec 27, 2015, 9:06 PM GMT+13 (08:06 UTC), 555 km (345 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.0 Fiji region. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecast More in Fiji

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sun, Dec 27, 2015, 9:06 PM GMT+13
UTC: 2015-12-27 08:06:01 UTC
Depth: 555.1 km (344.9 mi), deep
Epicenter: 20.899° S, 178.700° 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
4.9	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.042 · 177 stations
5.34	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 9.6 km horizontally, 5.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 35°
Stations used: 287

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast364 kmW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 25 in the 60 days after this one and 8 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 us100049ug (also filed as gcmt20151227080601, iscgem608141901). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:43 AM UTC.