Reviewed by USGSTonga8y ago
M4.1 earthquake 279 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga
Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 12:16:50 UTC · 20.421°S, 177.781°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 279 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga on Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 12:16:50 UTC, at a depth of 490.4 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 490 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
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
166 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
490 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 10 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on November 14, 2018. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.4Fiji region7y ago · 35 km W of this epicenter
- 4.0264 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 40 km S of this epicenter
- 4.4254 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 25 km E of this epicenter
- 4.2256 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 42 km S of this epicenter
- 4.1254 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 37 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.6261 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 23 km E of this epicenter
- 4.4298 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 21 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.5282 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga8y ago · 21 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,805 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 · 260 km N of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 294 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 215 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 127 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 214 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 229 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 279 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 273 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 2018M8.2
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2018 · 260 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 145 km away
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 294 km away
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 298 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 127 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 213 km away · intensity VI
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.