M5.3 earthquake 147 km N of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 147 km N of Neiafu, Tonga on Wed, Dec 23, 2015, 10:28 AM GMT-12 (22:28 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2015-12-23 22:28:18 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.336° S, 173.734° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.059 · 96 stations |
| 5.08 | 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 9.6 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 47°
- Stations used
- 125
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.8167 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3934 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.5134 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3928 days ago · 66 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.8116 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3889 days ago · 44 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.864 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3888 days ago · 23 km deep · 89 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10004966 (also filed as gcmt20151223222818, iscgem608116854). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 11:47 AM UTC.