Reviewed by USGSTonga27y ago
M4.6 earthquake 106 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga
Monday, January 10, 2000, 21:15:48 UTC · 15.322°S, 174.544°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 106 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga on Monday, January 10, 2000, 21:15:48 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on January 10, 2000.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
7 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: shallow
33 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 974 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.0The 1917 Samoa-Tonga EarthquakeJune 26, 1917 · 141 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 26, 1975 · 246 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7133 km NE of Hihifo, TongaSeptember 1, 1981 · 162 km E of this epicenter
- 7.488 km NNE of Hihifo, TongaApril 7, 1995 · 110 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2117 km SSW of Hihifo, TongaJanuary 8, 2000 · 181 km S of this epicenter
- 7.219 km ENE of Hihifo, TongaOctober 15, 1984 · 114 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1112 km NNE of Hihifo, TongaApril 14, 1957 · 129 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0146 km NW of Neiafu, TongaMay 22, 1972 · 278 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1917M8.3
Samoa Islands
26 Jun 1917 · 167 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1981M7.7
Apia; American Samoa: Pago Pago
1 Sep 1981 · 162 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1975M7.8
Samoa Islands
26 Dec 1975 · 246 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 1957M7.5
Samoa Islands
14 Apr 1957 · 167 km away
- 1995M7.4
Apia; American Samoa: Pago Pago; Niue
7 Apr 1995 · 110 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.