M5.7 earthquake 288 km SSW of Houma, Tonga
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 288 km SSW of Houma, Tonga on Wed, May 13, 2026, 10:19 AM GMT+13 (21:19 UTC), 154 km (96 mi) below the surface.
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
- 2026-05-12 21:19:36 UTC
- Depth
- 154.0 km (95.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 23.350° S, 176.836° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Felt reports
- 1
- Strongest shaking
- I, not felt 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 · ±0.062 · 25 stations |
| 5.8 | Mwp, P-wave moment | NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Preliminary · 7 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 · Confirmed |
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- 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 | 90% |
| 1 to 10 | 9% |
| 10 to 100 | Under 1% |
| 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 | 90% |
| 1 to 10 | 9% |
| 10 to 100 | Under 1% |
| 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 62°, dip 46°, rake 14°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 322°, dip 80°, rake 135°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 9.3 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 43°
- Stations used
- 101
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7250 km SW of Houma, Tonga · 133 days ago · 203 km deep · 81 km away
- 4.6237 km SW of Houma, Tonga · 114 days ago · 10 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.5289 km SW of Houma, Tonga · 110 days ago · 220 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.6south of the Fiji Islands · 107 days ago · 10 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.9255 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 104 days ago · 35 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.9273 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 104 days ago · 35 km deep · 88 km away
- 4.9south of the Fiji Islands · 96 days ago · 190 km deep · 92 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000sx9x (also filed as usauto6000sx9x, attey0kj). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 2:43 PM UTC.