M5.6 earthquake 60 km NE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 60 km NE of Pangai, Tonga on Sat, Dec 29, 2007, 10:59 AM GMT+13 (21:59 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 66 km NE of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2007-12-28 21:59:42 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.387° S, 173.991° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.57 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.6 | 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 usp000fvhp. 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 197°, dip 32°, rake 97°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 9°, dip 59°, rake 86°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 76°
- Stations used
- 78
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.164 km E of Pangai, Tonga · 6853 days ago · 10 km deep · 61 km away
- 5.766 km NE of Pangai, Tonga · 6852 days ago · 30 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.467 km S of Neiafu, Tonga · 6852 days ago · 4 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.724 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 6839 days ago · 35 km deep · 86 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fvhp (also filed as gcmtc200712282159a, gcmt20071228215942, iscgem13300161). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 10:13 AM UTC.