M5.1 earthquake 96 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 96 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga on Mon, Dec 23, 2019, 5:49 AM GMT+13 (16:49 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
- 2019-12-22 16:49:26 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.093° S, 173.481° 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 · ±0.098 · 10 stations |
| 5.19 | 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
- Oblique reverse
- Moment magnitude
- 5.1 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 190°, dip 23°, rake 49°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 54°, dip 73°, rake 105°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 9.2 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.10
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 40°
- Stations used
- 68
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9156 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 2455 days ago · 10 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.8140 km E of Pangai, Tonga · 2420 days ago · 10 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.6120 km SE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2418 days ago · 10 km deep · 85 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70006pvd (also filed as iscgem617000683). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 10:36 AM UTC.