M5.1 earthquake 64 km E of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 64 km E of Pangai, Tonga on Sun, Dec 30, 2007, 9:55 AM GMT+13 (20:55 UTC), 10 km (6 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
- 5.1 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2007-12-29 20:55:20 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.881° S, 173.740° 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 |
| 5.08 | 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 usp000fvkk. 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 199°, dip 30°, rake 82°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 28°, dip 61°, rake 94°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 90°
- Stations used
- 105
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 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.766 km NE of Pangai, Tonga · 6852 days ago · 30 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.467 km S of Neiafu, Tonga · 6852 days ago · 4 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.769 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 6822 days ago · 35 km deep · 59 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fvkk (also filed as gcmtc200712292055a, gcmt20071229205521, iscgem13313538). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:35 AM UTC.