M5.1 earthquake 299 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 299 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Fri, Oct 24, 2008, 12:36 PM GMT+13 (23:36 UTC), 52 km (32 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
- 2008-10-23 23:36:11 UTC
- Depth
- 52.3 km (32.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.022° S, 176.736° 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 |
| 5.09 | 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 usp000gkwe. 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 313°, dip 82°, rake 172°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 44°, dip 82°, rake 8°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 59°
- Stations used
- 93
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9287 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 6553 days ago · 35 km deep · 22 km away
- 3.9Fiji region · 6546 days ago · 35 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.0Fiji region · 6529 days ago · 383 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.1255 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6522 days ago · 358 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.4244 km WNW of Pangai, Tonga · 6503 days ago · 301 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.4231 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 6501 days ago · 254 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.0Fiji region · 6500 days ago · 603 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.6Fiji region · 6499 days ago · 381 km deep · 90 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000gkwe (also filed as gcmtc200810232336a, gcmt20081023233611, iscgem11362189). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:52 AM UTC.