M5.6 earthquake 81 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 81 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Apr 4, 2025, 9:01 PM GMT+13 (08:01 UTC), 201 km (125 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2025-04-04 08:01:06 UTC
- Depth
- 201.0 km (124.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.627° S, 174.474° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Strongest shaking
- III, weak 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.05 · 39 stations |
| 5.6 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | Reviewed · 0 stations |
| 5.8 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 5.6 | 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
- III, weak shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 1.0% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 0.5 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
- Oblique normal
- Moment magnitude
- 5.6 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 227°, dip 40°, rake -49°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 359°, dip 61°, rake -119°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 10.1 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 43°
- Stations used
- 95
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.393 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 549 days ago · 178 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.9112 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 535 days ago · 293 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.978 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 526 days ago · 59 km deep · 67 km away
- 4.599 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 524 days ago · 68 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.4136 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 518 days ago · 246 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.949 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 512 days ago · 82 km deep · 43 km away
- 4.336 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 512 days ago · 65 km deep · 62 km away
- 4.6106 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 512 days ago · 10 km deep · 44 km away
- 4.752 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 502 days ago · 119 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.743 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 499 days ago · 131 km deep · 43 km away
- 4.6118 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 494 days ago · 156 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.749 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 492 days ago · 135 km deep · 32 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000q3w4 (also filed as usauto6000q3w4, pt25094050). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC.