Deep M6.6 earthquake hits south of the Fiji Islands
Image credit: TW/SAM, Google
A deep earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.6 hit south of the Fiji Islands at 04:31 UTC on April 18, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 562.5 km (349 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.5 at a depth of 576 km (358 miles).
The epicenter was located 469.3 km (291.6 miles) S of Levuka, Fiji, and 578 km (359 miles) WSW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga.
1 000 people are estimated to have felt weak shaking.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are informal (metal, timber, GI, etc.) and unknown/miscellaneous types of construction.
Seismic activity
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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