M5.7 earthquake 125 km W of Houma, Tonga
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 125 km W of Houma, Tonga on Thu, Jan 4, 2024, 5:56 PM GMT+13 (04:56 UTC), 197 km (122 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 116 km WSW of Houma, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2024-01-04 04:56:37 UTC
- Depth
- 197.0 km (122.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 21.119° S, 176.507° W
- Region
- Tonga
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.048 · 42 stations |
| 5.8 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 11 stations |
| 5.7 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 5.7 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS, automatic first solution | First automatic solution · Preliminary |
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
- 0.6% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 0.2 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
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
- 5.7 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 258°, dip 16°, rake -25°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 12°, dip 83°, rake -105°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 11.4 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 20°
- Stations used
- 243
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.8116 km WSW of Houma, Tonga · 989 days ago · 155 km deep · 61 km away · felt by 3
- 4.3109 km NW of Houma, Tonga · 985 days ago · 205 km deep · 66 km away
- 5.4165 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 955 days ago · 291 km deep · 46 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000m1ld (also filed as usauto6000m1ld, pt24004000). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:34 AM UTC.