M5.2 earthquake 71 km W of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 71 km W of Neiafu, Tonga on Fri, Jun 20, 2008, 1:18 PM GMT+13 (00:18 UTC), 139 km (87 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-06-20 00:18:32 UTC
- Depth
- 139.3 km (86.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.699° S, 174.661° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.21 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt at Neiafu.
From the USGS event page for usp000ga4a. 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 235°, dip 16°, rake 110°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 34°, dip 75°, rake 84°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 41°
- Stations used
- 254
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4106 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6666 days ago · 80 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.0102 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 6662 days ago · 228 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.6105 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6648 days ago · 96 km deep · 56 km away
- 5.076 km WSW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6630 days ago · 120 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.3107 km NW of Pangai, Tonga · 6627 days ago · 198 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.780 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 6624 days ago · 68 km deep · 9 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ga4a (also filed as gcmtc200806200018a, gcmt20080620001832, iscgem10994911). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 5:10 PM UTC.