Fiji earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake Fiji region

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 4:23 PM GMT+13 (03:23 UTC), 563 km (350 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.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.5 (mww), moderate
Local time: Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 4:23 PM GMT+13
UTC: 2021-07-17 03:23:47 UTC
Depth: 563.0 km (349.8 mi), deep
Epicenter: 20.600° S, 178.406° W
Region: Fiji
Strongest shaking: I, not felt shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Shaking

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

Strongest estimated: I, not felt shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 0.0% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: -4.2 cm/s
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

Deaths: estimated chance of each range
Range	Chance
Under 1	65%
1 to 10	30%
10 to 100	4%
100 to 1,000	Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000	Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000	Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000	Under 1%

Economic losses: estimated chance of each range
Range, million USD	Chance
Under 1	65%
1 to 10	30%
10 to 100	4%
100 to 1,000	Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000	Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000	Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000	Under 1%

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 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 288°, dip 37°, rake -36°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 49°, dip 69°, rake -122°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 9.5 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.09
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 31°
Stations used: 111

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast338 kmW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 20 in the 60 days after this one and 13 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 us7000emsw (also filed as iscgem620833041). Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 9:16 PM UTC.