Reviewed by USGSTonga13y ago
M5.0 earthquake 271 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga
Tuesday, May 28, 2013, 08:45:53 UTC · 21.400°S, 177.818°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 271 km W of Haveluloto, Tonga on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, 08:45:53 UTC, at a depth of 405.9 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on May 23, 2013.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 406 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
142 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
406 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on June 6, 2013. 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 1,447 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 277 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 233 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 133 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 178 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 151 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 110 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionAugust 5, 1996 · 94 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4292 km SW of Vaini, TongaMay 23, 2013 · 189 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1977M7.2
Tonga Trench
22 Jun 1977 · 257 km away · intensity IV
1 death$1 million damagetsunami
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 85 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 233 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 284 km away · intensity VI
- 1997M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Oct 1997 · 133 km away
tsunami
- 2002M7.7
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2002 · 178 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.