Reviewed by USGSTonga117y ago
M7.2 earthquake 280 km WNW of Houma, Tonga
Wednesday, December 14, 1910, 20:46:04 UTC · 20.342°S, 177.848°W
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 280 km WNW of Houma, Tonga on Wednesday, December 14, 1910, 20:46:04 UTC, at a depth of 440.0 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on August 21, 1910.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mB
- Depth
- 440 km
- Deep
- 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
951 kilotons of TNT
That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
175 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
440 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 300 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 268 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 290 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Fiji regionMarch 31, 1907 · 268 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0254 km WNW of Houma, TongaApril 20, 1910 · 33 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 300 km away
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 287 km away
- 1853
Tonga Trench
24 Dec 1853 · 293 km away
tsunami
- 1907
S Of Tonga
1907 · 239 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.