January 1, 1919 Earthquake: Fiji Islands

Name: January 1, 1919 Earthquake: Fiji Islands
Start: 1919-01-01
Location: Fiji Islands

January 1, 1919 · M7.8

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Fiji Islands on January 1, 1919 at 03:00:34 UTC, 485 km below the surface. 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: January 1, 1919
Time: 03:00:34 UTC
Place: Fiji Islands
Magnitude: 7.8 (Mw)
Focal depth: 485 km (301 mi)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 19.318° S, 178.080° W
Country: Fiji

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.

An earthquake occurred with the following parameters: Gutenberg, Richter (1954): 1.I; 2h 59m 57s; 19.5 S, 176.5 W.; 180 km; M=7.75-8, which, as assumed by Imamura and Moniya (1939) generated a tsunami, recorded in Japan with a height of up to 40 cm. In the work of Iida et al. (1967), this assumption is perhaps justifiably criticized (reference #415)

1919-01-01 03:00:34.46 UTC, 19.318 S 178.08 W, magnitude 7.8 Mw (reference #10476, v 12.1)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1919 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1919 Recent earthquakes near here This 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 3133.