Tonga earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 77 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 77 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Sep 2, 2008, 9:01 AM GMT-11 (20:01 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.6 83 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Apia forecast More in Tonga

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, Sep 2, 2008, 9:01 AM GMT-11
UTC: 2008-09-02 20:01:03 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.414° S, 173.336° 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
5.34	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.

no people dead or missing; no people injured; no buildings damaged or destroyed

From the USGS event page for usp000gg8s. 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 219°, dip 5°, rake -163°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 112°, dip 88°, rake -85°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Station coverage gap: 66°
Stations used: 199

Nearest places

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

Apia, SamoaPopulation 40,407. Forecast244 kmSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 10 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 usp000gg8s (also filed as gcmtc200809022001a, gcmt20080902200103, iscgem11226754). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 10:08 AM UTC.