M5.1 earthquake 63 km E of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 63 km E of Neiafu, Tonga on Fri, Jun 20, 2008, 5:20 AM GMT+13 (16:20 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
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
- 2008-06-19 16:20:48 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.707° S, 173.389° 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 |
| 5.12 | 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 usp000ga34. 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 207°, dip 29°, rake 94°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 23°, dip 61°, rake 88°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 115°
- Stations used
- 54
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.074 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6679 days ago · 10 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.458 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 6676 days ago · 35 km deep · 10 km away
- 4.445 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6657 days ago · 48 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.979 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6652 days ago · 22 km deep · 35 km away
- 4.949 km SSE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6635 days ago · 35 km deep · 53 km away
- 3.985 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6634 days ago · 11 km deep · 48 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ga34 (also filed as gcmtc200806191620a, gcmt20080619162048, iscgem10994892). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:44 AM UTC.