Tonga earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake Tonga region

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck in the Tonga region on Sun, Jun 5, 2016, 10:33 AM GMT-12 (22:33 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.6 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sun, Jun 5, 2016, 10:33 AM GMT-12
UTC: 2016-06-05 22:33:49 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 17.647° S, 172.632° W
Region: Tonga
Strongest shaking: III, 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
5.55	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.6	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: III, weak shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

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 183°, dip 48°, rake 79°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 19°, dip 43°, rake 102°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 3.6 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 53°
Stations used: 107

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000628p (also filed as gcmt20160605223352, iscgem608989499). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 11:29 PM UTC.