M6.6 earthquake - 168 km SW of Leava, Wallis and Futuna

What happened

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 168 km SW of Leava, Wallis and Futuna on 8 Aug 1997, 22:27 UTC at a depth of 10 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 192 km away in Northern, Fiji.