M5.6 earthquake 259 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 259 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sat, Oct 1, 2016, 1:33 PM GMT+13 (00:33 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
- 5.6 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-10-01 00:33:00 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.681° S, 174.926° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Strongest shaking
- II, weak 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 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.61 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.5 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- II, weak 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 5.6 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 23°, dip 67°, rake 87°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 210°, dip 23°, rake 96°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 8.4 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 62°
- Stations used
- 211
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4286 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3654 days ago · 10 km deep · 28 km away
- 5.2261 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3651 days ago · 10 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.0207 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3651 days ago · 22 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.8south of Tonga · 3648 days ago · 25 km deep · 50 km away
- 4.5203 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3639 days ago · 35 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.6south of Tonga · 3630 days ago · 10 km deep · 78 km away
- 5.3256 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3624 days ago · 10 km deep · 24 km away
- 4.7Tonga region · 3619 days ago · 35 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.1south of Tonga · 3612 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.0202 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3595 days ago · 10 km deep · 58 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10006u90 (also filed as gcmt20161001003304, iscgem609631434). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:09 AM UTC.