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Strong mag. 6.2 earthquake - Tonga Islands on Saturday, 7 November 2020 at 09:27 (GMT) - information

Strong mag. 6.2 Earthquake - Tonga Islands on Saturday, Nov 7, 2020, at 10:27 pm (GMT +13)

A very strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific Ocean 196 km (122 mi) from  Tonga late in the evening of Saturday, Nov 7, 2020 at 10.27 pm local time (GMT +13). The quake had a shallow depth of 64 km (40 mi) and was reported felt by some people near the epicenter.

Strong mag. 6.2 Earthquake - Tonga Islands on Saturday, Nov 7, 2020, at 10:27 pm (GMT +13) Strong mag. 6.2 Earthquake - Tonga Islands on Saturday, Nov 7, 2020, at 10:27 pm (GMT +13)
Strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake at 64 km depth
7 Nov 09:36 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 9 minutes.
7 Nov 09:39: Epicenter location corrected by 11 km (7 mi) towards WNW.
7 Nov 10:00: Magnitude recalculated from 6.1 to 6.2.
7 Nov 10:00: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 10.0 to 64.0 km (from 6.2 to 40 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 24 km (15 mi) towards WNW.
Update Sat, 7 Nov 2020, 09:39

Significant 6.1 quake hits near Hihifo, Samoa

6.1 quake 75 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga, Samoa, 7 Nov 10.27 pm (GMT +13)
6.1 quake 75 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga, Samoa, 7 Nov 10.27 pm (GMT +13)
The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported a magnitude 6.1 quake in Samoa near the village of Hihifo only 12 minutes ago. The earthquake hit late at night on Saturday 7 November 2020 at 10.27 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10 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.
A second report was later issued by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which listed it as a magnitude 6.4 earthquake. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), reported the same quake at magnitude 6.2.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage. Moderate shaking probably occurred in Hihifo (pop. 800) located 75 km from the epicenter.
This story will be updated soon by VolcanoDiscovery. 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 details

Date & timeNov 7, 2020 09:27:09 UTC
Local time at epicenterSaturday, Nov 7, 2020, at 10:27 pm (GMT +13)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude6.2
Depth64.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude15.2°S / 173.82°W South Pacific Ocean, Tonga
Seismic antipode15.2°N / 6.18°E Niger
Shaking intensityModerate shaking near epicenter
Felt4 reports
Primary data sourceGFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
Nearest volcanoWest Mata (26 km / 16 mi)
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeScattered Clouds 26.9°C (80 F), humidity: 78%, wind: 8 m/s (16 kts) from ESE
Estimated seismic energy released1.3 x 1014 joules (35 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 30089 tons of TNT or 1.9 atomic bombs!) | about seismic energy
Interactive map
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Nearby places

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Hihifo, a town with 815 inhabitants in Tonga, in 84 km (52 mi) distance south of the epicenter. People likely experienced moderate shaking there. In the capital of  American Samoa, Pago Pago, 351 km (218 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as weak shaking.
The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.
Distance Place Max. shaking intensity(*) Region Country
84 km (52 mi)
S of epicenter
Hihifo
(pop: 815)
V: Moderate
Niuas
226 km (141 mi)
NE of epicenter
Asau
(pop: 6,640)
IV: Light
Vaisigano
Samoa
245 km (152 mi)
NE of epicenter
Mulifanua
(pop: 4,510)
IV: Light
Aiga-i-le-Tai
Samoa
247 km (154 mi)
NE of epicenter
Safotu
(pop: 1,210)
IV: Light
Gagaifomauga
Samoa
255 km (158 mi)
NE of epicenter
Fasito‘outa
(pop: 2,100)
IV: Light
A'ana
Samoa
268 km (167 mi)
NE of epicenter
Apia
(pop: 40,400)
IV: Light
Tuamasaga
Samoa
332 km (206 mi)
NW of epicenter
Mata-Utu
(pop: 1,200)
III: Weak
Uvea
Wallis & Futuna
347 km (216 mi)
E of epicenter
Tāfuna
(pop: 7,990)
III: Weak
Western
American Samoa
351 km (218 mi)
E of epicenter
Pago Pago
(pop: 11,500)
III: Weak
Eastern
American Samoa
384 km (239 mi)
S of epicenter
Neiafu
(pop: 4,320)
III: Weak
Vava'u
Notes:
(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.

User-reports for this quake (5)

We received 4 reports for this quake.
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
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Tafuna American Samoa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 5-10 s : One moderate jolt to start then a soft slow rolling motion for about 10 seconds | 3 users found this interesting.  
Apia / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
Apia / Moderate shaking (MMI V)
American Samoa / Moderate shaking (MMI V)
Alele (Wallis and Futuna, 363 km NW of epicenter) : Petite secousse (reported through EMSC)  

What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?


The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.
Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.
Read more about the MMI scale!

Compare Quake Data

Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies

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.
Mag Depth Time GMT
2020-11-7
Epicenter Agency
6.2 64 km
40 mi
09:27:09 Tonga Islands GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
5.9 40 km
25 mi
09:27:06 TONGA, Samoa
29 km (18 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ
EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
6.1 29 km
18 mi
09:27:04 79 Km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga, Samoa
29 km (18 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ
USGS (United States Geological Survey)
6.2 49 km
31 mi
09:27:06 Tonga Islands, Samoa
38 km (24 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ
GeoAu (Geoscience Australia )
6.3 20 km
12 mi
09:27:04 Tonga Islands [Sea: Tonga], Samoa
32 km (20 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ
INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia)
5.9 10 km
6.2 mi
(*)
09:27:02 Tonga Islands, Samoa
34 km (21 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ
BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia)
Notes:
(*) A depth given as 10 km often means that the the depth of the quake could not determined with sufficient accuracy.

Seismograms

Seismic station: Afiamalu, Samoa (AFI/IU network) | Distance from quake: 262 km / 163 mi | Show on map | Station Info
Seismic station Afiamalu, Samoa: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)
Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.1-10.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool
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Aftershocks for this quake

So far, only one aftershock has been recorded. It hit 13 days after the mainshock in 26 km (16 mi) distance. When more aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.

What are aftershocks?


Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.
[More info]

What about this quake?


Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface of approx. 158 km2 (=61 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 22 km (14 mi).
[More info]


Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quake)

Date and Time GMTMag
Depth
DistanceRegionDetails
Nov 20, 2020 09:38 am (GMT +12)
3 years ago
13 days after main shock
4.6

35 km
26 km (16 mi)
N of main shock
Samoa Islands RegionMore
Nov 7, 2020 10:27 pm (GMT +13)
3 years ago - felt
6.2

64 km
0 km - This quakeSouth Pacific Ocean, Tonga, 84 km N of Hihifo, Niuas
Main Shock (this quake)
More

Map of aftershocks

Previous quakes in the same area of this earthquake

Map of earlier quakes in the area of this quake

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Map to embed or share