Tonga earthquakes

M5.7 earthquake 152 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 152 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Tue, Nov 4, 2008, 3:41 PM GMT-12 (03:41 UTC), 188 km (117 mi) below the surface.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.7 (Mwb, body-wave moment), moderate
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2008-11-05 03:41:43 UTC
Depth
187.6 km (116.6 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
17.321° S, 174.362° 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.ScaleComputed byNotes
5.7Mwb, body-wave momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterPreferred · Reviewed
5.72Mw, momentISC-GEM global catalogFinal · ±0.1
5.7Mwc, centroid momentGlobal CMT projectPreliminary

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 usp000gmze. 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 139°, dip 53°, rake -7°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 233°, dip 85°, rake -143°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from
CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Station coverage gap
43°
Stations used
228

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.4165 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6541 days ago · 238 km deep · 26 km away
  2. 3.6Tonga · 6541 days ago · 312 km deep · 67 km away
  3. 3.4151 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6538 days ago · 150 km deep · 5 km away
  4. 4.2154 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6538 days ago · 223 km deep · 22 km away
  5. 4.5158 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6529 days ago · 227 km deep · 55 km away
  6. 4.077 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 6521 days ago · 85 km deep · 96 km away
  7. 4.4Tonga · 6520 days ago · 131 km deep · 98 km away
  8. 4.499 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6513 days ago · 104 km deep · 64 km away
  9. 3.5124 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6509 days ago · 185 km deep · 78 km away
  10. 3.6160 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6504 days ago · 304 km deep · 80 km away
  11. 4.881 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6501 days ago · 140 km deep · 93 km away
  12. 4.090 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 6493 days ago · 35 km deep · 96 km away
  13. 3.6148 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6488 days ago · 200 km deep · 87 km away

Before

  1. 4.3149 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6556 days ago · 229 km deep · 31 km away
  2. 4.469 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6556 days ago · 150 km deep · 90 km away
  3. 4.5142 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6561 days ago · 93 km deep · 57 km away
  4. 4.696 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6565 days ago · 13 km deep · 57 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000gmze (also filed as gcmtc200811050341a, gcmt20081105034143, iscgem12922967). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC.