M6.5 earthquake 207 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 207 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga on Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 11:28 AM GMT+13 (22:28 UTC), 246 km (153 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2021-04-25 22:28:02 UTC
- Depth
- 246.0 km (152.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.610° S, 177.153° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Felt reports
- 2
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.038 · 68 stations |
| 6.5 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.1 | Mi | NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 11 stations |
| 6.4 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 15 stations |
| 6.5 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 6.3 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS, automatic first solution | First automatic solution · Preliminary |
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
- 0.7% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- -0.8 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
2 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.
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
- Strike-slip
- Moment magnitude
- 6.5 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 110°, dip 32°, rake 176°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 203°, dip 88°, rake 58°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 8.0 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 20°
- Stations used
- 159
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.8238 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 1977 days ago · 352 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.3137 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga · 1968 days ago · 437 km deep · 73 km away
- 5.1215 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 1964 days ago · 238 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.2238 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga · 1962 days ago · 374 km deep · 70 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000e4rl (also filed as usauto6000e4rl, pt21115000, at00qs552q, iscgem620351370). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 11:42 PM UTC.