M5.7 earthquake 130 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 130 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Mon, Dec 11, 2017, 11:50 PM GMT+13 (10:50 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-12-11 10:50:00 UTC
- Depth
- 7.0 km (4.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.833° S, 173.721° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.066 · 22 stations |
| 5.68 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.8 | 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
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 75.0% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.0 cm/s
- 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
| Range | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 65% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 4% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
| Range, million USD | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 65% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 4% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
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
- 5.7 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 219°, dip 31°, rake 94°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 34°, dip 59°, rake 88°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 7.6 km horizontally, 1.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 38°
- Stations used
- 110
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7117 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3219 days ago · 10 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.9137 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3218 days ago · 10 km deep · 9 km away
- 4.9111 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3216 days ago · 10 km deep · 40 km away
- 5.387 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3211 days ago · 10 km deep · 44 km away
Before
- 5.0132 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3230 days ago · 10 km deep · 4 km away
- 5.0111 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3231 days ago · 10 km deep · 23 km away
- 4.6100 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 3234 days ago · 10 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.7102 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 3236 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.6137 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3238 days ago · 10 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.682 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3244 days ago · 10 km deep · 49 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000c2te (also filed as iscgem611595157). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 11:29 PM UTC.