Reviewed by USGSTonga4mo ago
M4.4 earthquake 148 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 22:59:13 UTC · 17.234°S, 174.214°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 148 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 22:59:13 UTC, at a depth of 82.7 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 83 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
37 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
83 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 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 2,571 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 · 223 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.12009 Samoa EarthquakeSeptember 29, 2009 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.0The 1917 Samoa-Tonga EarthquakeJune 26, 1917 · 269 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 26, 1975 · 215 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7133 km NE of Hihifo, TongaSeptember 1, 1981 · 280 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.682 km WNW of Hihifo, TongaMay 10, 2023 · 181 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6199 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaApril 2, 1977 · 233 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5158 km W of Neiafu, TongaMarch 24, 2026 · 197 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 298 km away
192 deaths$285 million damagetsunami
- 1917M8.3
Samoa Islands
26 Jun 1917 · 232 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 219 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 263 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1981M7.7
Apia; American Samoa: Pago Pago
1 Sep 1981 · 280 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1977M7.6
Apia
2 Apr 1977 · 233 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.