M5.3 earthquake 165 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 165 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Tue, Sep 18, 2007, 12:52 AM GMT+13 (11:52 UTC), 263 km (163 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2007-09-17 11:52:12 UTC
- Depth
- 263.0 km (163.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.295° S, 175.503° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.3 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.3 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt at Neiafu.
From the USGS event page for usp000fnh8. 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
- Strike-slip
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 301°, dip 47°, rake -30°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 52°, dip 69°, rake -133°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Station coverage gap
- 50°
- Stations used
- 219
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9236 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6937 days ago · 35 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.1175 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6907 days ago · 247 km deep · 45 km away
- 5.1131 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6903 days ago · 224 km deep · 48 km away
Before
- 4.0232 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6957 days ago · 338 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.5165 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 6958 days ago · 119 km deep · 18 km away
- 5.4129 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6965 days ago · 194 km deep · 78 km away
- 5.071 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6966 days ago · 155 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.4182 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 6975 days ago · 307 km deep · 23 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fnh8 (also filed as gcmtc200709171152a, gcmt20070917115212, iscgem12966027). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC.