M5.1 earthquake 63 km NNE of Kolonga, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 63 km NNE of Kolonga, Tonga on Tue, May 9, 2023, 3:14 AM GMT+13 (14:14 UTC), 55 km (34 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
- 2023-05-08 14:14:31 UTC
- Depth
- 55.1 km (34.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.595° S, 174.851° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Felt reports
- 5
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
5 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate shaking.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Normal
- Moment magnitude
- 5.1 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 252°, dip 42°, rake -65°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 40°, dip 53°, rake -111°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 7.2 km horizontally, 5.4 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.10
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 59°
- Stations used
- 54
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 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.371 km N of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga · 1239 days ago · 76 km deep · 35 km away
- 4.7Tonga · 1235 days ago · 149 km deep · 86 km away
- 4.666 km WSW of Pangai, Tonga · 1212 days ago · 105 km deep · 56 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000kadq. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 12:54 PM UTC.