M6.0 earthquake 73 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 73 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Tue, Jul 30, 2024, 2:07 AM GMT+13 (13:07 UTC), 9 km (6 mi) below the surface.
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
- 2024-07-29 13:07:11 UTC
- Depth
- 9.0 km (5.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.381° S, 173.981° 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 · ±0.073 · 18 stations |
| 6.3 | Mi | NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 7 stations |
| 6.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 5.9 | 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
- 3.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.8 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 6.0 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 28°, dip 76°, rake 78°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 249°, dip 18°, rake 130°
- Landslide alert
- Green
- Liquefaction alert
- Green
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 9.3 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 43°
- Stations used
- 173
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.0 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.866 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 790 days ago · 10 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.8118 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 784 days ago · 24 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.2103 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 780 days ago · 35 km deep · 42 km away
- 4.684 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 779 days ago · 27 km deep · 16 km away
- 4.4104 km ESE of Fangale’ounga, Tonga · 775 days ago · 10 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.8118 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 760 days ago · 10 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.670 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 744 days ago · 10 km deep · 44 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000ngng (also filed as usauto6000ngng, at00shdz42). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC.