Reviewed by USGSTonga5mo ago
M4.4 earthquake 122 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga
Sunday, April 5, 2026, 23:31:29 UTC · 17.692°S, 174.566°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 122 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Sunday, April 5, 2026, 23:31:29 UTC, at a depth of 80.1 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 80 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
0 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
80 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on May 3, 2026. 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 2,425 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11919 Tonga EarthquakeApril 30, 1919 · 235 km E of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 261 km S of this epicenter
- 8.02006 Tonga EarthquakeMay 3, 2006 · 281 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 263 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 26, 1975 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.682 km WNW of Hihifo, TongaMay 10, 2023 · 230 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6199 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaApril 2, 1977 · 285 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5158 km W of Neiafu, TongaMarch 24, 2026 · 135 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 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 · 295 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 229 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 230 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2006M7.9
Tonga Islands
3 May 2006 · 281 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1977M7.6
Apia
2 Apr 1977 · 285 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 261 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.