On Monday Night an Unusually powerful M7.0 Earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean 162km from Nuku‘alofa (Tonga).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 30th, 2025. Last updated April 3rd, 2025.

In the night of Monday March 31st, 2025, an unusually powerful M7.0 earthquake hit in the South Pacific Ocean 162 kilometer from Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, 156 kilometers (97 mi) off the coast of Tonga, 162 kilometer north-east of Nuku‘alofa in Tongatapu. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 29 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Mar 31, 2025 01:18AM (Tongatapu Time) 4 days ago - Mar 30, 2025 12:18 Universal Time.
Location:	162 km NE of Nuku‘alofa, Tongatapu, Tonga. Coordinates 20°19'46"S 173°54'27"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.0 Detected by 10 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.031 .
Depth:	29 km (18 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	This earthquake had a magnitude of 7. Earthquakes of this strength could trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 29 km (18 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 100 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 100 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Strong shaking and probably light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 3,030 people. At VI, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 70 thousand) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Tonga .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
0	III	Weak	Probably none
68,400	IV	Light	Likely none
33,380	V	Moderate	Very light
3,030	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Tonga . Located 162 kilometer (101 mi) north-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Nuku‘alofa (Tongatapu, Tonga) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Nuku‘alofa is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
162 km (101 mi) SW from epicenter	Nuku‘alofa Tongatapu, Tonga.	V Moderate
441 km (274 mi) ENE from epicenter	Alofi All regions, Niue.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is VI. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 27 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 27 people have reported shaking in 9 places in 2 countries (Tonga, Niue).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Nukuʿalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga: 8 people.
Neiafu, Vavaʿu, Tonga: 6 people.
Pangai, Haʿapai, Tonga: 3 people.
Tofoa-Koloua, Tongatapu, Tonga: 3 people.
Haveloloto, Tongatapu, Tonga: 2 people.
Alofi, _no region, Niue: 2 people.
Muʿa, Tongatapu, Tonga: 1 person.
Makefu, _no region, Niue: 1 person.
Tuapa, _no region, Niue: 1 person.

10 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 10 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 12 km (7 mi) south-southeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 6.2

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 7.0	Mar 31, 2025 01:18AM (Tongatapu Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.8	2 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 03:24AM (Tongatapu Time)	23 km (14 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.8	3 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 03:58AM (Tongatapu Time)	42 km (26 mi) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 6.2	3 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 04:04AM (Tongatapu Time)	12 km (7 mi) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.9	3 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 04:26AM (Tongatapu Time)	20 km (13 mi) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.8	3 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 04:33AM (Tongatapu Time)	20 km (13 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.8	4 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 05:10AM (Tongatapu Time)	19 km (12 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.8	7 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 08:30AM (Tongatapu Time)	28 km (17 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.3	10 hrs later Mar 31, 2025 10:51AM (Tongatapu Time)	23 km (14 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.9	1 day later Apr 1, 2025 02:20AM (Tongatapu Time)	20 km (12 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.0	3 days later Apr 2, 2025 01:59PM (Tongatapu Time)	23 km (14 mi) E from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since November 11th, 2022, when a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit 218 km (135 mi) further east-northeast. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 10 years.

Sources

Last updated 03/04/25 11:48 (16 hours ago). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.