Moderate mag. 5.3 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 153 km southwest of Nuku\'alofa, Tongatapu, on Wednesday, 25 Nov 2020 3:07 am (GMT +13) -

Moderate mag. 5.3 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 153 km southwest of Nuku\'alofa, Tongatapu, on Wednesday, 25 Nov 2020 3:07 am (GMT +13)

Moderate magnitude 5.3 earthquake at 60 km depth

24 Nov 14:30 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 23 minutes.
24 Nov 14:31: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 63.0 to 60.0 km (from 39 to 37 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1.1 km (0.7 mi) towards N.
... [show all] ...
24 Nov 15:22: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 80.0 to 60.0 km (from 50 to 37 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 8.5 km (5.3 mi) towards WNW.
Update Tue, 24 Nov 2020, 14:33
Significant magnitude 5.2 earthquake 152 km southwest of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga
5.2 quake SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS, Tonga, 25 Nov 3.07 am (GMT +13)
5.2 quake SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS, Tonga, 25 Nov 3.07 am (GMT +13)
A intermediate magnitude 5.2 earthquake was reported early morning near Vaini, Tonga.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Wednesday 25 November 2020 at 3.07 am local time at an intermediate depth of 80 km. 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.
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 Vaini (pop. 3,000) located 149 km from the epicenter, Malapo (pop. 500) 149 km away, Haveluloto (pop. 3,400) 150 km away, Nuku‘alofa (pop. 22,400) 152 km away, Tatakamotonga (pop. 3,000) 153 km away, ‘Ohonua (pop. 1,200) 153 km away, Lapaha (pop. 8,000) 154 km away, and Kolonga (pop. 1,100) 161 km away.
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 data:

Date & time: 24 Nov 2020 14:07:34 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Wednesday, 25 Nov 2020 3:07 am (GMT +13)
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 60.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 22.23°S / 176.11°W (South Pacific Ocean, Tonga)
Nearest volcano: Unnamed 21.38°S/175.65°W (106 km / 66 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
152 km (94 mi) SW of Haveluloto (pop: 3,420) --> See nearby quakes!
153 km (95 mi) SW of Nuku'alofa (pop: 22,400) --> See nearby quakes!
153 km (95 mi) SW of Nuku‘alofa (pop: 22,400) --> See nearby quakes!
156 km (97 mi) SW of ‘Ohonua (Ohonua) (pop: 1,240) --> See nearby quakes!
163 km (101 mi) SW of Kolonga (pop: 1,100) --> See nearby quakes!
325 km (202 mi) SSW of Pangai (pop: 1,740) --> See nearby quakes!
456 km (283 mi) SSW of Neiafu (pop: 4,320) --> See nearby quakes!
498 km (310 mi) SE of Tavunasici Island --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Overcast Clouds 24.1°C (75 F), humidity: 73%, wind: 5 m/s (10 kts) from ESE
Primary data source: EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
Estimated released energy: 5.6 x 1012 joules (1.56 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 1344 tons of TNT) More info
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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.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 5.360 kmSOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS, TongaEMSC
M 5.265 km150 Km SW of Vaini, TongaUSGS
M 5.1123 kmSouth of Fiji Islands, TongaGFZ
M 5.0401 kmSouth of Fiji IslandsBMKG

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!
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Aftershocks of the 5.3 quake South Pacific Ocean, 153 km southwest of Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, 25 Nov 2020 3:07 am (GMT +13)

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quakes):
So far, no aftershocks have been registered.
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Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900

Moderate mag. 5.3 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 153 km southwest of Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, on Wednesday, 25 Nov 2020 3:07 am (GMT +13)
    Hint: Click on Date/Time to show latest first
  • Date / time UTC
    | Mag |
    Depth
    |
    Age
    |
    Distance
    | Details
  • 14 Oct 1997 09:53
    | 7.8 |
    167km / 104mi
    |
    23 years ago
    |
    70km / 43mi
    | South of the Fiji Islands (Tonga)
  • 19 Mar 2009 18:17
    | 7.6 |
    31km / 19mi
    |
    12 years ago
    |
    174km / 108mi
    | Tonga Region
  • 08 Sep 1948 15:09
    | 7.5 |
    15km / 9.3mi
    |
    72 years ago
    |
    255km / 159mi
    | Tonga
  • 23 May 2013 17:19
    | 7.4 |
    171km / 107mi
    |
    8 years ago
    |
    135km / 84mi
    | 282km SW of Vaini, Tonga
  • 16 Apr 1937 03:01
    | 7.3 |
    330km / 205mi
    |
    84 years ago
    |
    220km / 137mi
    | Fiji Region
  • 16 Apr 1996 00:30
    | 7.2 |
    111km / 69mi
    |
    25 years ago
    |
    225km / 140mi
    | South of the Fiji Islands (Tonga)
  • 11 Jul 1992 10:44
    | 7.2 |
    377km / 234mi
    |
    29 years ago
    |
    239km / 148mi
    | South of the Fiji Islands
  • 30 Oct 1986 01:28
    | 7.2 |
    188km / 117mi
    |
    34 years ago
    |
    79km / 49mi
    | Fiji Region (Tonga)
  • 19 Dec 1982 17:43
    | 7.2 |
    33km / 21mi
    |
    38 years ago
    |
    213km / 132mi
    | South of Tonga
  • 09 Jun 1991 07:45
    | 7.0 |
    266km / 165mi
    |
    30 years ago
    |
    220km / 137mi
    | Fiji Region (Tonga)
    • Show all

Map of earlier quakes

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