M4.8 earthquake 150 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 150 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Wed, Mar 18, 2009, 5:10 AM GMT-12 (17:10 UTC), 87 km (54 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 157 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2009-03-18 17:10:33 UTC
- Depth
- 87.2 km (54.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 17.327° S, 174.325° 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 usp000gv4c. 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.
- Station coverage gap
- 156°
- Stations used
- 13
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5154 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6395 days ago · 225 km deep · 46 km away
- 5.1157 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6374 days ago · 192 km deep · 18 km away
- 4.6125 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6360 days ago · 144 km deep · 33 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000gv4c. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC.