M5.2 earthquake 101 km NNW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 101 km NNW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga on Mon, May 31, 2021, 1:48 PM GMT+13 (00:48 UTC), 137 km (85 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2021-05-31 00:48:42 UTC
- Depth
- 137.4 km (85.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 20.277° S, 175.533° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.098 · 10 stations |
| 5.29 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.8 | Mi | NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 8 stations |
| 5.2 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS, automatic first solution | First automatic solution · Confirmed |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 11.3 km horizontally, 4.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.10
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 41°
- Stations used
- 101
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000eg3i (also filed as usauto6000eg3i, at00qty4x9, iscgem625580697). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 8:51 PM UTC.