M5.0 earthquake 111 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 111 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 1:37 AM GMT+13 (12:37 UTC), 198 km (123 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2015-12-21 12:37:12 UTC
- Depth
- 197.7 km (122.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.157° S, 174.905° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.072 · 62 stations |
| 5.09 | 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 10.5 km horizontally, 3.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 45°
- Stations used
- 90
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6166 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3928 days ago · 22 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.5129 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3899 days ago · 149 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.3108 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3891 days ago · 200 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.8127 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3884 days ago · 247 km deep · 16 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us100048l4 (also filed as gcmt20151221123712, iscgem608116593). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 10:56 AM UTC.