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M5.9 Earthquake near 53 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga

UTC time: 2025-03-30 15:33:49 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
M5.9
Depth
27.1 km
Source
USGS

53 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga

Map

M5.9 Earthquake near 53 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 2025-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.9 Earthquake near 53 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 2025-03-30 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.9 earthquake was recorded near 53 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on March 30, 2025 at 15:33 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 27 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

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

Details

ID
b424fe40322ca15e93320fa85d697d77bd0bc0df
Magnitude
M5.9
Depth
27.1 km
UTC time
2025-03-30 15:33:49 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-20.22490, -174.08130

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 27.1 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 27.1 km
Shallow
27.1 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

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

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Nuku'alofa154.4 kmSW22'400

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Kao
    Distance: 116 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'009 m ·Last eruption: 1847 ·Tonga
  • Tofua
    Distance: 116 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 515 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Tonga
  • Fonuafo'ou
    Distance: 140 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -17 m ·Last eruption: 1936 ·Tonga
  • Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai
    Distance: 141 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 114 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Tonga
  • Lateiki
    Distance: 143 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 43 m ·Last eruption: 2019 ·Tonga
  • Home Reef
    Distance: 155 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -10 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Tonga

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Lifuka Island AirportTonga · HPA · NFTL
    56.7 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-04

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours4
First 24 hours9
First 72 hours12
Strongest subsequent eventM5.2
M4.42025-03-30 15:42:24 UTC16.6 km60 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M4.82025-03-30 16:10:10 UTC29.4 km78 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M4.32025-03-30 19:20:35 UTC79.9 km132 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga M4.62025-03-30 19:30:27 UTC23.7 km74 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M5.22025-03-30 21:51:43 UTC15.8 km67 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M4.72025-03-31 00:23:58 UTC47.3 km100 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M4.32025-03-31 01:47:48 UTC78.5 km122 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga M4.42025-03-31 07:22:02 UTC118.5 km99 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga M4.92025-03-31 13:20:43 UTC49.8 km103 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga M4.92025-03-31 22:25:56 UTC64.9 km115 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M4.62025-04-01 07:37:29 UTC23.8 km66 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M4.92025-04-02 00:59:30 UTC41.0 km90 km SE of Pangai, 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#5
Earlier events M≥427
Earlier events M≥59
Compared since2025-01-02

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

Strongest earlier events

M7.02025-03-30 12:18:50 UTC9.4 km61 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga M7.02025-03-30 12:18:49 UTC21.6 km73 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M7.02025-03-30 12:18:49 UTC71.0 kmHaʻapai M6.22025-03-30 15:04:54 UTC18.9 km72 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga M5.32025-01-10 01:34:40 UTC126.2 km81 km WNW of Pangai, Tonga

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
458
Country (24h)
—
—
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