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Home » Special Events » Magnitude 6.3 earthquake near Tonga, Pacific Ocean
last updated: 10/02/09 07:53.32 (PDT)
On Thursday October 1 2009 at 6:07 PM (PDT) the USArray seismic network recorded an earthquake (preliminary Mw 6.3) located near Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. This is an aftershock to the Mw 8.0 earthquake in the Samoa Islands region that occurred on September 29, 2009.
Initial source parameters for this tremor are indicated below. The epicentral distance (i.e. distance separating the epicenter and the closest station in the recording network, SCI2) for the USArray is 7981 km (71.70 degrees).
If you felt the quake, the USGS would like to know. Please add your comments to the USGS page "Did you feel it?".
Summary
| Solution Parameters | |
|---|---|
| Local Date: | Thursday October 1, 2009 |
| Local Time: | 6:07 PM PST |
| Universal Time: | 10/02/09 (275) 01:07.43 UTC |
| Magnitude: | 6.3 Mw |
| Latitude: | -16.6600 |
| Longitude: | -173.2400 |
| Depth: | 33 km |
| Author: | QED |
| Authoritative: | yes |
Proximity to Population Centers
- 85 km (55 miles) SE of Hihifo, Tonga
- 240 km (150 miles) NNE of Neiafu, Tonga
- 545 km (340 miles) NNE of Nuku'Alofa, Tonga
- 2535 km (1580 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand
Maps
Mercator projection regional view
The red star denotes the earthquake epicenter. Triangle symbols are active stations at the time of the earthquake in the USArray (excluding ANSS backbone stations and GSN stations, which are represented by a diamond symbol) and colored by network. Gray lines are major rivers.
| Transportable Array (TA) | |
| UC San Diego (AZ) | |
| CalTech (CI) | |
| Uni. Utah (UU) | |
| ANSS backbone stations (US) | |
| Global Seismograph Network (IU) |
Regional satellite view
The red marker denotes the earthquake epicenter.
Detailed terrain view
The red marker denotes the earthquake epicenter.
Waveforms
You may view plots showing this event as recorded by USArray instruments:
- 3 components recorded by SCI2, the closest USArray station to the event, 0.01–0.1 band-pass (BP) filtered
- Large 3 components recorded by SCI2, the closest USArray station to the event, 0.01–0.1 band-pass (BP) filtered
- Vertical components from every eighth USArray station that recorded the event across the whole network
3 components recorded by SCI2, the closest USArray station to the event, 0.01–0.1 band-pass (BP) filtered:
News links
- USGS page for this event
- Reuters: "Fresh quake near Tonga, tsunami toll nears 200"
- CNN: "Strong quake shakes Tonga"
- The New Zealand Herald: "New quake rocks area as tsunami toll climbs"
Search the internet
To search the internet for more information about this event, click on the button below:
Current seismic activity measured by USArray
Click the links below to observe near real time maps of earthquakes recorded by the USArray deployment:
Further information
Learn more about the Array Network Facility (ANF) component of USArray, the USArray experiment, the EarthScope project, and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS).
