M6.9 earthquake near Labasa, Northern

What happened

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 78 km ESE of Labasa, Fiji on 16 Nov 1979, 15:21 UTC at a depth of 33 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Labasa, about 78 km away in Northern, Fiji.