Reviewed by USGSTonga103y ago
M6.3 earthquake 72 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
Monday, July 7, 1924, 02:39:49 UTC · 16.299°S, 173.225°W
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 72 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga on Monday, July 7, 1924, 02:39:49 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on June 18, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
38 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 80 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
98 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11919 Tonga EarthquakeApril 30, 1919 · 240 km S of this epicenter
- 8.0The 1917 Samoa-Tonga EarthquakeJune 26, 1917 · 145 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4103 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaFebruary 27, 1921 · 290 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9127 km S of Hihifo, TongaMay 8, 1913 · 120 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9171 km WNW of Neiafu, TongaJune 18, 1923 · 297 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8100 km SE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 20, 1914 · 38 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7144 km ENE of Hihifo, TongaOctober 20, 1916 · 113 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6151 km S of Hihifo, TongaMay 2, 1919 · 122 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1917M8.3
Samoa Islands
26 Jun 1917 · 92 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 240 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.