Moderate Mag. 5.8 Earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 38 km South of Hihifo, Niuas, Tonga, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 10:23 pm (GMT -11)

Moderate magnitude 5.8 earthquake at 113 km depth

19 May 09:29 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 5 minutes.
19 May 09:33: Now using data updates from USGS
19 May 09:46: Magnitude recalculated from 6.0 to 5.8. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 149.6 to 113.0 km (from 93 to 70 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 32 km (20 mi) towards SW.

Update Thu, 19 May 2022, 09:39

Significant magnitude 6.0 earthquake 25 km southeast of Hihifo, Tonga

6.0 quake 19 May 10:23 pm (GMT +13)

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake near Hihifo, Niuas, Tonga, was reported only 15 minutes ago by the United States Geological Survey, considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at an intermediate depth of 149.6 km beneath the epicenter late at night on Thursday, May 19th, 2022, at 10:23 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, which listed it as a magnitude 6.0 earthquake as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) at magnitude 5.9, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.7.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Hihifo (pop. 820) located 25 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

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Earthquake details

Date & time	May 19, 2022 09:23:51 UTC -
Local time at epicenter	Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 10:23 pm (GMT -11)
Status	Confirmed
Magnitude	5.8
Depth	113.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	16.2914°S / 173.8381°W (South Pacific Ocean, Tonga)
Antipode	16.291°N / 6.162°E
Shaking intensity	Weak shaking
Felt	8 reports
Primary data source	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcano	Tafahi (51 km / 32 mi)
Nearby towns and cities	38 km (23 mi) S of Hihifo (pop: 815) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 263 km (163 mi) N of Neiafu (pop: 4,320) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 334 km (208 mi) SSW of Asau (Samoa) (pop: 6,640) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 352 km (219 mi) SW of Apia (Samoa) (pop: 40,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 396 km (246 mi) N of Bangai (Pangai) (pop: 1,740) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 399 km (248 mi) SW of Tāfuna (Tualauta, American Samoa) (pop: 11,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 404 km (251 mi) SW of Pago Pago (Ma'Oputasi, American Samoa) (pop: 11,500) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 419 km (260 mi) SE of Mata-Utu (Hahake, Wallis & Futuna) (pop: 1,200) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 421 km (261 mi) SE of Wallis Island (pop: 10,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Few Clouds 28°C (82 F), humidity: 72%, wind: 8 m/s (15 kts) from ESE
Estimated seismic energy released	3.2 x 10¹³ joules (8.78 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 7558 tons of TNT or 0.5 atomic bombs!) \| about seismic energy

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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag.	Depth	Location	Source
5.8	113 km	37 Km S of Hihifo, Tonga	USGS
5.8	116 km	Tonga Islands	GFZ
5.8	113 km	TONGA	EMSC
5.8	113 km	Tonga Islands	RaspberryShake
5.5	115 km	Tonga: Near Nouméa	RENASS
5.8	122 km	Tonga Islands	GeoAu

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User reports for this quake (9)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Fagatogo, Eastern District (404.8 km ENE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s : Sitting at the table - saw water in glass move and felt motion | 21 users found this interesting.

Apia (349.3 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : In bed. Two shakes. First smaller second more horizontal and longer. | 8 users found this interesting.

Tafuna (397.5 km ENE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s : Quick thud and rocking. The hole building | 4 users found this interesting.

American Samoa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : quick shake, 2 minutes apart .. three times | 2 users found this interesting.

American Samoa (317.6 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Felt it shaking while laying in bed | One user found this interesting.

Tafuna (397.5 km ENE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s : Quick thud and rocking. The hole building | One user found this interesting.

Apia / not felt / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Light tremor felt in Apia | One user found this interesting.

American Samoa (317.6 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Felt it shaking while laying in bed

Pago Pago / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quake)

Date and time	Mag Depth	Location	Details
May 26, 2022 00:05 44 weeks ago	4.6 112 km	0.5 km N of Hihifo, Niuas, Tonga	More

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Moderate mag. 5.8 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 38 km south of Hihifo, Niuas, Tonga, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 10:23 pm (GMT -11) -

Moderate magnitude 5.8 earthquake at 113 km depth

Significant magnitude 6.0 earthquake 25 km southeast of Hihifo, Tonga

Earthquake details

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

User reports for this quake (9)

Aftershocks

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quake)

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Moderate mag. 5.8 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 38 km south of Hihifo, Niuas, Tonga, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 10:23 pm (GMT -11) - writeAge(1652952231)

Moderate magnitude 5.8 earthquake at 113 km depth

Significant magnitude 6.0 earthquake 25 km southeast of Hihifo, Tonga

Earthquake details

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

User reports for this quake (9)

Aftershocks

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quake)

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Support us - Help us upgrade our services!

Moderate mag. 5.8 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 38 km south of Hihifo, Niuas, Tonga, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 10:23 pm (GMT -11) -