Reviewed by USGSTonga7y ago
M4.0 earthquake 264 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga
Sunday, November 18, 2018, 05:50:52 UTC · 20.779°S, 177.725°W
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 264 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga on Sunday, November 18, 2018, 05:50:52 UTC, at a depth of 482.8 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 483 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
151 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
483 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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on December 5, 2018. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,609 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.22018 Fiji EarthquakeAugust 19, 2018 · 300 km N of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 297 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 227 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 167 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 177 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 212 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 82 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 70 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1977M7.2
Tonga Trench
22 Jun 1977 · 300 km away · intensity IV
1 death$1 million damagetsunami
- 2018M8.2
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2018 · 300 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 110 km away
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 297 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 167 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 229 km away · intensity VI
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.