M5.1 earthquake 78 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 78 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga on Sun, Mar 17, 2019, 1:43 PM GMT+13 (00:43 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
- 5.1 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2019-03-17 00:43:30 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.149° S, 173.695° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.086 · 13 stations |
| 5.15 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 5.1 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 14°, dip 25°, rake 96°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 188°, dip 65°, rake 87°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 12.1 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 69°
- Stations used
- 125
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000jh9k (also filed as iscgem615225292). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:14 AM UTC.