Reviewed by USGSTonga2y ago
M5.0 earthquake 104 km W of Hihifo, Tonga
Thursday, November 23, 2023, 20:07:34 UTC · 15.923°S, 174.771°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 104 km W of Hihifo, Tonga on Thursday, November 23, 2023, 20:07:34 UTC, at a depth of 276.9 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on November 19, 2023.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 277 km
- Intermediate
- 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
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
2 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Niuafo'ou plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
277 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2,185 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.12009 Samoa EarthquakeSeptember 29, 2009 · 290 km E of this epicenter
- 8.0The 1917 Samoa-Tonga EarthquakeJune 26, 1917 · 191 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 26, 1975 · 249 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7133 km NE of Hihifo, TongaSeptember 1, 1981 · 210 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.682 km WNW of Hihifo, TongaMay 10, 2023 · 44 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6199 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaApril 2, 1977 · 298 km E of this epicenter
- 7.488 km NNE of Hihifo, TongaApril 7, 1995 · 155 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2117 km SSW of Hihifo, TongaJanuary 8, 2000 · 125 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 194 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2009M8.1
Samoa Islands
29 Sep 2009 · 290 km away
192 deaths$285 million damagetsunami
- 1917M8.3
Samoa Islands
26 Jun 1917 · 195 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1981M7.7
Apia; American Samoa: Pago Pago
1 Sep 1981 · 210 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1977M7.6
Apia
2 Apr 1977 · 298 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1975M7.8
Samoa Islands
26 Dec 1975 · 249 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 2023M7.6
Hihifo
10 May 2023 · 40 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.