Fiji earthquakes

M6.9 earthquake Fiji region

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Sun, Sep 25, 2016, 10:28 AM GMT+13 (21:28 UTC), 596 km (371 mi) below the surface.

Nuku‘alofa forecast More 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: 6.9 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sun, Sep 25, 2016, 10:28 AM GMT+13
UTC: 2016-09-24 21:28:41 UTC
Depth: 596.4 km (370.6 mi), deep
Epicenter: 19.782° S, 178.244° W
Region: Fiji
Felt reports: 1
Strongest shaking: III, weak shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: Yes: a large quake in an oceanic region
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
6.9	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
6.92	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.8	Mi	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 10 stations
6.9	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
6.9	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

Tsunami

The USGS flags a quake this large in an oceanic region. The flag does not mean a tsunami happened; the tsunami warning centers decide that, and their messages are below when they issued any.

Current tsunami warnings: tsunami.gov. Warnings in force in the US also appear on our alerts pages.

Shaking

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

Strongest estimated: III, weak shaking
Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

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: Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude: 6.9 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 239°, dip 89°, rake 99°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 334°, dip 9°, rake 5°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 9.2 km horizontally, 3.5 km in depth
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 9°
Stations used: 555

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast351 kmWNW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.9 and up: 38 in the 60 days after this one and 17 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 us10006scr (also filed as at00oe12bt, gcmt20160924212841, iscgem609561441). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 4:19 PM UTC.