Tonga earthquakes

M6.9 earthquake 132 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 132 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga on Sun, Jul 2, 2023, 11:27 PM GMT+13 (10:27 UTC), 229 km (142 mi) below the surface.

Nuku‘alofa forecast More in Tonga

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.9 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sun, Jul 2, 2023, 11:27 PM GMT+13
UTC: 2023-07-02 10:27:43 UTC
Depth: 229.0 km (142.3 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 17.881° S, 174.948° W
Region: Tonga
Felt reports: 21
Strongest shaking: IV, light shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: Yes: a large quake in an oceanic region
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
6.9	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.041 · 58 stations
6.7	Mi	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 5 stations
6.7	Mi	NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 8 stations
6.1	Mi	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	First automatic solution · Reviewed · 5 stations
6.9	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
6.8	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
6.9	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS, automatic first solution	First automatic solution · Confirmed

Tsunami

The USGS flags a quake this large in an oceanic region. The flag does not mean a tsunami happened; the tsunami warning centers decide that, and their messages are below when they issued any.

Tsunami Information for Hawaii from the PTWC. Read the message
Tsunami Information Bulletin from the PTWC. Read the message

Current tsunami warnings: tsunami.gov. Warnings in force in the US also appear on our alerts pages.

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: 3.1% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 2.2 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

21 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

Deaths: estimated chance of each range
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%

Economic losses: estimated chance of each range
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: Oblique normal
Moment magnitude: 6.9 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 266°, dip 29°, rake -32°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 24°, dip 75°, rake -115°
Landslide alert: Green
Liquefaction alert: Green

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.0 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 21°
Stations used: 108

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast363 kmN

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.9 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000kpls (also filed as at00rx5zq9, pt23183000, usauto6000kpls). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:23 AM UTC.