Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 178 km east of Neiafu, Vava‘u, Tonga, on Sunday, 20 October 2019 at 04:32 (GMT) -

Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 178 km east of Neiafu, Vava‘u, Tonga, on Sunday, 20 October 2019 at 04:32 (GMT)

Moderate magnitude 5.0 earthquake at 2 km depth

20 Oct 05:02 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 30 minutes.
Hypocenter depth recalculated from 10.0 to 2.0 km.
Date & time: 20 Oct 2019 04:32:02 UTC -
Magnitude: 5
Depth: 2.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 18.79°S / 172.3°W (South Pacific Ocean, Tonga)
Nearest volcano: Unnamed 18.325°S/174.365°W (215 km / 134 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
178 km (111 mi) E of Neiafu (pop: 4,320) --> See nearby quakes!
244 km (152 mi) ENE of Pangai (pop: 1,740) --> See nearby quakes!
252 km (157 mi) W of Alofi (Niue) (pop: 624) --> See nearby quakes!
261 km (162 mi) W of Hakupu (Niue) (pop: 221) --> See nearby quakes!
261 km (162 mi) W of Mutalau (Niue) (pop: 133) --> See nearby quakes!
353 km (219 mi) SSE of Hihifo (pop: 815) --> See nearby quakes!
389 km (242 mi) NE of Kolonga (pop: 1,100) --> See nearby quakes!
396 km (246 mi) NE of ‘Ohonua (Ohonua) (pop: 1,240) --> See nearby quakes!
400 km (249 mi) NE of Nuku'alofa (pop: 22,400) --> See nearby quakes!
400 km (249 mi) NE of Nuku‘alofa (pop: 22,400) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
Estimated released energy: 2 x 1012 joules (554 megawatt hours, equivalent to 477 tons of TNT) More info
Show interactive Map
[smaller] [bigger]
If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!
Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!

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.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 5.02 kmTonga RegionEMSC
M 5.010 km169km E of Neiafu, TongaUSGS

User reports for this quake

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it be the first to report it!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
to top

Aftershocks of the 5.0 quake South Pacific Ocean, 178 km east of Neiafu, Vava‘u, Tonga, 20 October 2019 04:32 GMT

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quakes):
So far, no aftershocks have been registered.
to top

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 178 km east of Neiafu, Vava‘u, Tonga, on Sunday, 20 October 2019 at 04:32 (GMT)
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Why is there advertising on this site?

Support us - Help us upgrade our server!

We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.
Our server is reaching its limits and we need financing to increase capacity in order to deal with huge activity peaks when quakes occur. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every penny counts and every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features and in upgrading our software, please make a donation (PayPal or Online cc payment).

Planned features:
  • Weather reports
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Design upgrades
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards
  • Additional seismic data sources
  • Improved content in English
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you! With best regards from the VolcanoDiscovery team.
Copyrights: VolcanoDiscovery and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most texts and images, in particular photographs, on this website are protected by copyright. Further reproduction and use of without authorization is usually not consented. If you are not sure or need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.