M6.4 earthquake near Nuku‘alofa, Tongatapu
26692 d ago · 17 Sept 1953, 21:11 UTC 93 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
What happened
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 93 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on 17 Sept 1953, 21:11 UTC at a depth of 35 km.
Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.
The nearest town in our records is Nuku‘alofa, about 144 km away in Tongatapu, Tonga.
Timeline
First reported by USGS
16 Oct 2026, 20:46 UTC
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