M5.6 earthquake 127 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 127 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, Oct 10, 2016, 10:35 PM GMT+14 (08:35 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.1 127 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Mwb, body-wave moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-10-10 08:35:05 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.372° S, 174.820° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- PAGER alert
- Green
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.06 · 27 stations |
| 5.59 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Estimated impact
The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.
- Alert level
- Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Strike-slip
- Moment magnitude
- 5.6 Mwb
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 293°, dip 81°, rake 2°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 203°, dip 88°, rake 171°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 8.0 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 65°
- Stations used
- 102
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5161 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3646 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.5141 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3646 days ago · 10 km deep · 28 km away
- 5.2165 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3646 days ago · 10 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.039 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3640 days ago · 136 km deep · 88 km away
- 5.8127 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3630 days ago · 10 km deep · 2 km away
- 6.1127 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3630 days ago · 10 km deep · 9 km away
- 4.282 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3628 days ago · 102 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.5119 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3600 days ago · 56 km deep · 9 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20007d25 (also filed as gcmt20161010083506, iscgem609584797). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 2:07 AM UTC.