Reviewed by USGSTonga7y ago
M4.4 earthquake 266 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga
Tuesday, April 30, 2019, 16:04:27 UTC · 19.973°S, 177.441°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 266 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, 16:04:27 UTC, at a depth of 533.5 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 534 km
- Deep
- 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
125 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Niuafo'ou and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
534 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on May 20, 2019. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.2288 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 48 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.3264 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 2 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.4262 km NW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 28 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.2294 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 40 km W of this epicenter
- 4.1291 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 26 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.4Fiji region7y ago · 39 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.3264 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga7y ago · 42 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,915 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 · 220 km N of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 255 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 167 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 99 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 247 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 288 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 257 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 238 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 2018M8.2
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2018 · 220 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 176 km away
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 255 km away
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 274 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 99 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 160 km away · intensity VI
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.