M5.1 earthquake 119 km SE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 119 km SE of Neiafu, Tonga on Fri, May 18, 2007, 1:45 PM GMT+13 (00:45 UTC), 54 km (33 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2007-05-18 00:45:22 UTC
- Depth
- 53.7 km (33.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.366° S, 173.132° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.11 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.1 | 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 usp000fc6n. 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
- Normal
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 195°, dip 40°, rake -96°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 22°, dip 50°, rake -85°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- FROM_LOCATION
- Station coverage gap
- 53°
- Stations used
- 165
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6127 km SE of Neiafu, Tonga · 7060 days ago · 35 km deep · 12 km away
- 4.783 km SSE of Neiafu, Tonga · 7056 days ago · 10 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.560 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 7046 days ago · 10 km deep · 82 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fc6n (also filed as gcmtc200705180045a, gcmt20070518004522, iscgem12657616). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:51 PM UTC.