M4.7 earthquake 139 km SW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 139 km SW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Dec 16, 2005, 7:00 AM GMT+13 (18:00 UTC), 33 km (20 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 207 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2005-12-15 18:00:57 UTC
- Depth
- 32.8 km (20.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.371° S, 175.721° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
no people dead or missing; no people injured; no buildings damaged or destroyed
From the USGS event page for usp000e66z. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- FROM_LOCATION
- Station coverage gap
- 222°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 11
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.0207 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7595 days ago · 30 km deep · 70 km away
- 4.6196 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7583 days ago · 35 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.2162 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7579 days ago · 35 km deep · 23 km away
- 4.7206 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 7562 days ago · 117 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.6Tonga region · 7540 days ago · 35 km deep · 67 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000e66z. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 10:59 AM UTC.