Reviewed by USGSTonga13y ago
M5.5 earthquake 292 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
Saturday, June 1, 2013, 01:34:14 UTC · 23.061°S, 177.185°W
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 292 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Saturday, June 1, 2013, 01:34:14 UTC, at a depth of 185.4 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on May 24, 2013.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 185 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
25 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
185 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 75 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on June 7, 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 1,769 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8south of TongaOctober 11, 1975 · 293 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 115 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 283 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 18, 1963 · 191 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6191 km S of ‘Ohonua, TongaMarch 19, 2009 · 258 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionAugust 5, 1996 · 288 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4292 km SW of Vaini, TongaMay 23, 2013 · 8 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3227 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaApril 16, 1937 · 274 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 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 · 133 km away · intensity IV
1 death$1 million damagetsunami
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 175 km away
- 1975M7.8
S Of Tonga
11 Oct 1975 · 293 km away
- 1982M7.7
Tonga Trench
19 Dec 1982 · 180 km away
tsunami
- 1997M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Oct 1997 · 115 km away
tsunami
- 2002M7.7
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2002 · 283 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.