July 12, 1881 Earthquake: Fiji Islands
An earthquake struck Fiji Islands on July 12, 1881. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- July 12, 1881
- Place
- Fiji Islands
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 16.000° S, 179.000° E
- Country
- Fiji
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
A correspondent, writing from Macuata, thus describes a recently experienced shock of earthquake [January 1884]... The shock was a very severe one; by far the most severe that I have experienced during thirteen years residence in Fiji... During my residence here I have at various times felt the shocks of seven earthquakes, but this is the first occasion on which I have noticed the rumbling sound described. Some of the previous shocks have been attended by tidal disturbances, the rise and fall being as much as six feet in half an hour..." (reference #11526)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1184 Everingham, I.B. (1983). Reports of Earthquakes Felt in Fiji, 1850-1940. Report 48, Mineral Resources Department, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Suva, Fiji, January, 1983, 63 p.
- #11526 Fiji Times (1884). The Fiji Times, January 16, 1884.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1881The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6646.