M6.5 earthquake - 148 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and Futuna

What happened

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 148 km SSW of Leava, Wallis and Futuna on 22 Dec 1940, 12:31 UTC at a depth of 15 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 223 km away in Northern, Fiji.