Reviewed by USGSTonga30y ago
M4.8 earthquake 258 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga
Tuesday, April 16, 1996, 16:00:20 UTC · 22.463°S, 177.287°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 258 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga on Tuesday, April 16, 1996, 16:00:20 UTC, at a depth of 230.1 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on April 16, 1996.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 230 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
59 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
230 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 1,224 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 18, 1963 · 258 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 265 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4Fiji regionSeptember 28, 1957 · 240 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3227 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaApril 16, 1937 · 208 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Fiji regionMay 25, 1944 · 243 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2Fiji regionOctober 9, 1967 · 242 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2241 km WNW of Houma, TongaAugust 21, 1911 · 273 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2280 km WNW of Houma, TongaDecember 14, 1910 · 243 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 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 · 150 km away · intensity IV
1 death$1 million damagetsunami
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 111 km away
- 1982M7.7
Tonga Trench
19 Dec 1982 · 236 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.5
Fiji Islands
28 Sep 1957 · 262 km away
- 1963M7.5
Tonga Trench
18 Dec 1963 · 269 km away
tsunami
- 1853
Tonga Trench
24 Dec 1853 · 262 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.