M6.0 earthquake Tonga
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck in Tonga on Sat, May 27, 2023, 1:11 PM GMT+13 (00:11 UTC), 222 km (138 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.9 132 km NW 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
- 6.0 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2023-05-27 00:11:00 UTC
- Depth
- 222.0 km (137.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.484° S, 175.185° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Felt reports
- 1
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.049 · 40 stations |
| 6.0 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 7 stations |
| 6.0 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 6.0 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS, automatic first solution | First automatic solution · Confirmed |
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
- 0.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 0.4 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak 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
- 6.0 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 273°, dip 19°, rake -26°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 27°, dip 82°, rake -107°
- Landslide alert
- Green
- Liquefaction alert
- Green
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 7.6 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 24°
- Stations used
- 142
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.0 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.690 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 1214 days ago · 123 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.165 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 1201 days ago · 144 km deep · 63 km away
- 5.487 km NW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga · 1192 days ago · 118 km deep · 88 km away · felt by 1
- 6.9132 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 1188 days ago · 229 km deep · 72 km away · felt by 21 · tsunami flag
- 4.3159 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 1180 days ago · 223 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.7141 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 1171 days ago · 214 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.1162 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 1171 days ago · 221 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.479 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 1170 days ago · 131 km deep · 57 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000k4dc (also filed as usauto7000k4dc, pt23147000). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:23 PM UTC.