March 9, 1994 Earthquake: Fiji Islands
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Fiji Islands on March 9, 1994 at 23:28:06 UTC, 563 km below the surface.
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
- March 9, 1994
- Time
- 23:28:06 UTC
- Place
- Fiji Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.6 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 7.6 · mb 6.6
- Focal depth
- 563 km (350 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 18.039° S, 178.413° W
- Country
- Fiji
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt at Suva and Lautoka, Viti Levu. Depth from broadband displacement seismograms. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=25 Dip=70 Slip=-90 NP2:Strike=205 Dip=20 Slip=-90 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=25 Azm=115 (P) Plg=65 Azm=295 Comment: The focal mechanism is moderately well controlled and corresponds to normal faulting. The preferred fault plane is NP1. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 19 Focal mech. F Energy 2.4+0.5*10**15 Nm MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION Dep 571 No. of sta: 31 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**20 Nm Mrr=-1.67 Mtt=0.57 Mff=1.10 Mrt=-0.15 Mrf=-1.47 Mtf=1.04 Principal axes: (T) Val=2.33 Plg=18 Azm=122 (N) Val=0.01 Plg=17 Azm=26 (P) Val=-2.34 Plg=64 Azm=256 Best Double Couple:Mo=2.3*10**20 NP1:Strike=237 Dip=31 Slip=-55 NP2:Strike=18 Dip=65 Slip=-109 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN M.W.: 50S,136C Centroid Location: Origin Time 23:28:17.7 0.1 Lat 17.69S 0.01 Lon 178.11W 0.01 Dep 567.8 0.7 Half-duration 16.0 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**20 Nm Mrr=-1.22 0.01 Mtt=0.20 0.01 Mff=1.02 0.01 Mrt=-0.13 0.01 Mrf=-2.50 0.01 Mtf=1.39 0.01 Principal Axes: (T) Val=3.17 Plg=28 Azm=116 (N) Val=-0.18 Plg=23 Azm=13 (P) Val=-2.98 Plg=52 Azm=249 Best Double Couple:Mo=3.1*10**20 NP1:Strike=250 Dip=27 Slip=-30 NP2:Strike=7 Dip=77 Slip=-114
From the USGS event page for usp00069fm. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.6 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 7.6 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 7.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 7.32 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
| 7.6 | Mww, W-phase moment | Duputel, W-phase inversion | Preliminary |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1994, March 9. Felt at Suva and Lautoka, Viti Levu. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1994The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1994Recent 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 5383. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp00069fm, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.