south of the Fiji Islands

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake — a major event — struck near south of the Fiji Islands on March 30, 1972, at a deep-focus depth of about 502 km. An earthquake this size would have been felt strongly across the surrounding region; deep-focus earthquakes rarely cause major surface damage despite their size. Casualties, damage and the recovery depend on local building standards, population and distance from the epicentre — the news coverage, references and photos below capture what happened on the ground.