M5.0 earthquake 147 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 147 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Feb 22, 2007, 10:35 AM GMT-11 (21:35 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 137 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2007-02-22 21:35:56 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.031° S, 172.978° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.01 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
no people dead or missing; no people injured; no buildings damaged or destroyed
From the USGS event page for usp000f5e8. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Oblique reverse
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 139°, dip 34°, rake 36°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 18°, dip 71°, rake 119°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 70°
- Stations used
- 50
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.0205 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 7154 days ago · 10 km deep · 67 km away
- 5.1137 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga · 7153 days ago · 35 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.4149 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga · 7146 days ago · 10 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.7164 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 7144 days ago · 45 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.689 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 7121 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
- 5.182 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 7110 days ago · 10 km deep · 69 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000f5e8 (also filed as gcmtc200702222136a, gcmt20070222213557, iscgem11508114). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:18 PM UTC.