Reviewed by USGSTonga4mo ago
M4.1 earthquake 135 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga
Sunday, May 3, 2026, 06:04:41 UTC · 17.462°S, 174.290°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 135 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Sunday, May 3, 2026, 06:04:41 UTC, at a depth of 138.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 138 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
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
31 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
138 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on May 26, 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 2,597 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 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 292 km S of this epicenter
- 8.0The 1917 Samoa-Tonga EarthquakeJune 26, 1917 · 295 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 300 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 26, 1975 · 235 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.682 km WNW of Hihifo, TongaMay 10, 2023 · 205 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6199 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaApril 2, 1977 · 248 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5158 km W of Neiafu, TongaMarch 24, 2026 · 173 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 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 · 258 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 212 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 241 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1977M7.6
Apia
2 Apr 1977 · 248 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 292 km away
- 1902M7.8
Tonga Islands
9 Feb 1902 · 284 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.