M5.1 earthquake 117 km E of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 117 km E of Pangai, Tonga on Sat, Jan 16, 2021, 7:36 PM GMT+13 (06:36 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 93 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2021-01-16 06:36:32 UTC
- Depth
- 3.4 km (2.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.968° S, 173.246° 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 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.094 · 39 stations |
| 4.96 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
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 7.5 km horizontally, 2.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 74°
- Stations used
- 48
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.180 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 2067 days ago · 10 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.6119 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 2063 days ago · 10 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.696 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 2063 days ago · 10 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.4100 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 2057 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
- 5.393 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2052 days ago · 10 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.7143 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2049 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000d0lu (also filed as iscgem619720654). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:36 PM UTC.