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M5.0 Earthquake near Tonga Islands

UTC time: 2026-01-03 06:16:35 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
179.0 km
Source
GFZ

Tonga Islands

Map

M5.0 Earthquake near Tonga Islands · 2026-01-03 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.0 Earthquake near Tonga Islands · 2026-01-03 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.0 earthquake was recorded near Tonga Islands on January 3, 2026 at 06:16 UTC. At around 179 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The data is provided by GFZ and cross-checked across seismological networks.

Details

ID
9d8d25cbc90f9b02ad71ad84395ad2f65d492cb4
Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
179.0 km
UTC time
2026-01-03 06:16:35 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-20.28000, -175.73000
Temperature
27.6°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 179 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 179 km
Intermediate
179 km
Why depth matters

Intermediate-depth quakes are felt across a wider area but usually cause less surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Nuku'alofa110.0 kmSE22'400

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Fonuafo'ou
    Distance: 33 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -17 m ·Last eruption: 1936 ·Tonga
  • Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai
    Distance: 47 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 114 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Tonga
  • Tofua Arc at 20.9°S
    Distance: 66 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -296 m ·Last eruption: 2017 ·Tonga
  • Tofua
    Distance: 91 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 515 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Tonga
  • Tofua Arc at 21.1°S
    Distance: 97 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -65 m ·Tonga
  • Kao
    Distance: 101 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'009 m ·Last eruption: 1847 ·Tonga

No unambiguous area assignment

Context for this earthquake

This event has no unambiguous country assignment in the analysed catalogue. It is therefore not assigned to a regional profile.

Earthquake overview

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#10
Earlier events M≥437
Earlier events M≥59
Compared since2025-01-06

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M7.02025-03-30 12:18:49 UTC101.9 kmHaʻapai M5.72025-06-28 04:17:07 UTC46.9 kmTonga Islands M5.52025-06-28 04:17:09 UTC58.3 kmTONGA M5.52025-06-28 04:17:08 UTC58.3 km169 km NNW of Houma, Tonga M5.32025-08-23 20:37:47 UTC112.0 kmEvent of magnitude 5.3, near of Nouméa (Monde)

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
699
Country (24h)
—
—
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