M5.4 earthquake 86 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 86 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 6:32 AM GMT-12 (18:32 UTC), 200 km (125 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-10-25 18:32:41 UTC
- Depth
- 200.4 km (124.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.553° S, 174.311° 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. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.071 · 19 stations |
| 5.43 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.7 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | Reviewed · 34 stations |
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
- Oblique reverse
- Moment magnitude
- 5.4 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 223°, dip 35°, rake 145°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 343°, dip 71°, rake 60°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 9.5 km horizontally, 4.5 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 24°
- Stations used
- 92
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.661 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2895 days ago · 60 km deep · 24 km away
- 5.375 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2857 days ago · 20 km deep · 82 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000hh6q (also filed as pt18298050, iscgem615218057). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 10:25 PM UTC.