Tonga earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 279 km WNW of Houma, Tonga

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 279 km WNW of Houma, Tonga on Wed, May 21, 2025, 1:14 AM GMT+13 (12:14 UTC), 537 km (334 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.8 Fiji region. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Tonga

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2025-05-20 12:14:48 UTC
Depth
536.9 km (333.6 mi), deep
Epicenter
20.459° S, 177.879° W
Region
Tonga
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 15.1 km horizontally, 12.2 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.10
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
99°
Stations used
36

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 21 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.4239 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 500 days ago · 502 km deep · 47 km away
  2. 4.4Fiji region · 498 days ago · 598 km deep · 89 km away
  3. 4.0292 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 497 days ago · 515 km deep · 28 km away
  4. 4.0272 km W of Houma, Tonga · 494 days ago · 425 km deep · 54 km away
  5. 4.4268 km NW of Houma, Tonga · 494 days ago · 361 km deep · 91 km away
  6. 4.2274 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 491 days ago · 503 km deep · 42 km away
  7. 4.1283 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 488 days ago · 401 km deep · 55 km away
  8. 4.3274 km W of Houma, Tonga · 483 days ago · 497 km deep · 34 km away
  9. 4.1295 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 483 days ago · 554 km deep · 59 km away
  10. 4.0284 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 483 days ago · 497 km deep · 6 km away
  11. 4.3275 km W of Houma, Tonga · 482 days ago · 433 km deep · 77 km away
  12. 4.7Fiji region · 480 days ago · 549 km deep · 53 km away
  13. 4.3289 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 479 days ago · 529 km deep · 25 km away
  14. 4.0271 km NW of Houma, Tonga · 466 days ago · 376 km deep · 99 km away
  15. 4.7Fiji region · 464 days ago · 625 km deep · 99 km away
  16. 4.0Fiji region · 464 days ago · 607 km deep · 83 km away
  17. 4.1294 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 456 days ago · 576 km deep · 50 km away
  18. 4.4Fiji region · 453 days ago · 550 km deep · 25 km away
  19. 4.4Fiji region · 450 days ago · 550 km deep · 62 km away
  20. 4.8Fiji region · 443 days ago · 562 km deep · 43 km away
  21. 4.3Fiji region · 443 days ago · 599 km deep · 80 km away

Before

  1. 4.4271 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 504 days ago · 504 km deep · 25 km away
  2. 4.1293 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 507 days ago · 597 km deep · 49 km away
  3. 4.4259 km W of Houma, Tonga · 507 days ago · 478 km deep · 34 km away
  4. 4.5258 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 507 days ago · 513 km deep · 26 km away
  5. 4.1Fiji region · 508 days ago · 498 km deep · 39 km away
  6. 4.1Fiji region · 511 days ago · 619 km deep · 100 km away
  7. 4.5279 km W of Houma, Tonga · 512 days ago · 499 km deep · 35 km away
  8. 4.6Fiji region · 512 days ago · 623 km deep · 66 km away
  9. 4.5292 km WNW of Houma, Tonga · 513 days ago · 496 km deep · 13 km away
  10. 4.5Fiji region · 514 days ago · 577 km deep · 69 km away
  11. 4.2299 km W of Houma, Tonga · 516 days ago · 480 km deep · 82 km away

Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000q0b7. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:27 PM UTC.