Reviewed by USGSTonga24y ago
M4.8 earthquake 291 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga
Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 22:21:31 UTC · 20.390°S, 177.895°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 291 km WNW of Haveluloto, Tonga on Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 22:21:31 UTC, at a depth of 542.1 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on October 28, 2002.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 542 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
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
179 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
542 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on November 23, 2002. 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 1,290 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 · 224 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8Fiji regionJanuary 1, 1919 · 121 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8192 km WSW of Haveluloto, TongaOctober 14, 1997 · 223 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7Fiji regionAugust 19, 2002 · 222 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6178 km E of Levuka, FijiFebruary 22, 1909 · 271 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6240 km E of Levuka, FijiMarch 9, 1994 · 267 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5262 km WNW of Haveluloto, TongaMay 21, 1962 · 57 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4227 km E of Levuka, FijiAugust 21, 1910 · 294 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. The most severe:
- 1937M8.1
Fiji Islands
16 Apr 1937 · 155 km away
- 1909M7.8
Fiji Islands
22 Feb 1909 · 290 km away
- 1919M7.8
Fiji Islands
1 Jan 1919 · 121 km away
tsunami
- 1950M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Dec 1950 · 221 km away · intensity VI
- 1997M7.7
Tonga Islands
14 Oct 1997 · 223 km away
tsunami
- 2002M7.7
Fiji Islands
19 Aug 2002 · 222 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.