M5.2 earthquake 118 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 118 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Mon, Dec 7, 2015, 3:54 PM GMT+13 (02:54 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 147 km N of Neiafu, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2015-12-07 02:54:39 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.653° S, 174.381° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.051 · 129 stations |
| 5.03 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 9.3 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 60°
- Stations used
- 57
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5117 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3951 days ago · 167 km deep · 83 km away
- 5.0111 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3941 days ago · 198 km deep · 79 km away
- 5.3147 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 3938 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
- 4.6166 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3928 days ago · 22 km deep · 67 km away
- 4.5134 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3927 days ago · 66 km deep · 25 km away
- 4.5129 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3899 days ago · 149 km deep · 49 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us100044j9 (also filed as gcmt20151207025439, iscgem608081952). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 9:52 AM UTC.