Tonga earthquakes

M6.1 earthquake 101 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 101 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Aug 19, 2008, 5:30 AM GMT-11 (16:30 UTC), 8 km (5 mi) below the surface.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.1 (Mwb, body-wave moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, Aug 19, 2008, 5:30 AM GMT-11
UTC: 2008-08-19 16:30:13 UTC
Depth: 8.0 km (5.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.087° S, 173.476° 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
6.1	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.98	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.0	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary
5.73	Me, energy	Choy, USGS energy magnitude	Reviewed

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 usp000gf11. 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 111°, dip 46°, rake 4°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 18°, dip 87°, rake 136°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Station coverage gap: 58°
Stations used: 308

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Apia, SamoaPopulation 40,407. Forecast231 kmSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.1 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000gf11 (also filed as choy20080819163013, gcmtc200808191630a, gcmt20080819163013, iscgem13392119). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 3:15 AM UTC.