Reviewed by USGSTonga4mo ago
M4.2 earthquake 158 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga
Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 22:13:10 UTC · 17.988°S, 175.316°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 158 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 22:13:10 UTC, at a depth of 228.6 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 229 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
65 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
229 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,980 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 · 300 km W of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 226 km S of this epicenter
- 8.02006 Tonga EarthquakeMay 3, 2006 · 275 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 200 km S of this epicenter
- 7.682 km WNW of Hihifo, TongaMay 10, 2023 · 277 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5158 km W of Neiafu, TongaMarch 24, 2026 · 64 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4103 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaFebruary 27, 1921 · 261 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.385 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaJanuary 2, 1907 · 244 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 299 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 255 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2006M7.9
Tonga Islands
3 May 2006 · 275 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2018M8.2
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2018 · 300 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 226 km away
- 1902M7.8
Tonga Islands
9 Feb 1902 · 263 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.