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M5.2 Earthquake near Tonga Islands

UTC time: 2026-05-12 21:53:45 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. How our reports are produced ↗

Magnitude
M5.2
Depth
10.0 km
Source
GFZ

Tonga Islands

Map

M5.2 Earthquake near Tonga Islands · 2026-05-12 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.2 Earthquake near Tonga Islands · 2026-05-12 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.2 earthquake was recorded near Tonga Islands on May 12, 2026 at 21:53 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The event was recorded by GFZ.

Details

ID
b916750c7e553c11fc62816862a7dad5b73c9624
Magnitude
M5.2
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2026-05-12 21:53:45 UTC
Local time
—
Country
—
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-21.22000, -174.36000
Temperature
24.9°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 10 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 10 km
Shallow
10 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'alofa87.7 kmW22'400

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai
    Distance: 130 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 114 m ·Last eruption: 2022 ·Tonga
  • Tofua Arc at 20.9°S
    Distance: 130 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -296 m ·Last eruption: 2017 ·Tonga
  • Tofua Arc at 21.3°S
    Distance: 134 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -68 m ·Last eruption: 1932 ·Tonga
  • Tofua Arc at 21.1°S
    Distance: 144 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -65 m ·Tonga
  • Fonuafo'ou
    Distance: 149 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -17 m ·Last eruption: 1936 ·Tonga
  • Tofua
    Distance: 179 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 515 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Tonga

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Kaufana AirportTonga · EUA · NFTE
    64.4 kmStraight-line distance
  • Fua'amotu International AirportTonga · TBU · NFTF
    81.8 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-08

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

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#12
Earlier events M≥469
Earlier events M≥531
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 UTC105.4 km61 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga M7.02025-03-30 12:18:49 UTC109.7 km73 km SE of Pangai, Tonga M7.02025-03-30 12:18:49 UTC108.0 kmHaʻapai M6.22025-03-30 15:04:54 UTC100.0 km72 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga M5.92025-03-30 15:33:49 UTC114.4 km53 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga

Stats (last 24h)

Global (24h)
572
Country (24h)
—
—
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