Reviewed by USGSTonga107y ago
M6.4 earthquake 115 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga
Wednesday, May 26, 1920, 12:22:03 UTC · 14.950°S, 173.505°W
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 115 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Wednesday, May 26, 1920, 12:22:03 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on May 2, 1919.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- 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
62 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 130 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
37 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.0The 1917 Samoa-Tonga EarthquakeJune 26, 1917 · 26 km E of this epicenter
- 6.9127 km S of Hihifo, TongaMay 8, 1913 · 243 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8100 km SE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 20, 1914 · 191 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7144 km ENE of Hihifo, TongaOctober 20, 1916 · 125 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6151 km S of Hihifo, TongaMay 2, 1919 · 263 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5166 km WNW of Hihifo, TongaOctober 11, 1916 · 205 km W of this epicenter
- 6.488 km SE of Mata-Utu, Wallis and FutunaJuly 11, 1917 · 256 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.2211 km SSW of Vailoatai, American SamoaJune 28, 1917 · 241 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 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 · 82 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.