M5.0 earthquake 74 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 74 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga on Fri, Jun 20, 2008, 5:43 AM GMT+13 (16:43 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
- 5.0 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-06-19 16:43:28 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.870° S, 173.318° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.0 | 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 usp000ga36. 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 221°, dip 35°, rake 112°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 14°, dip 58°, rake 75°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 129°
- Stations used
- 57
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.458 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 6676 days ago · 35 km deep · 29 km away
- 4.445 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6657 days ago · 48 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.979 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6652 days ago · 22 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.0164 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6644 days ago · 35 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.949 km SSE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6635 days ago · 35 km deep · 50 km away
- 3.985 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6634 days ago · 11 km deep · 64 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ga36 (also filed as gcmtc200806191643a, gcmt20080619164328). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:41 AM UTC.