M4.2 earthquake 269 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 269 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Sun, Dec 27, 2015, 1:16 AM GMT-12 (13:16 UTC), 485 km (302 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 Fiji region. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2015-12-27 13:16:32 UTC
- Depth
- 485.3 km (301.5 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 17.492° S, 176.224° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
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 29.6 km horizontally, 28.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.17
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 200°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 13
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6Fiji region · 3911 days ago · 10 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.8Fiji region · 3903 days ago · 25 km deep · 99 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10004big. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:23 AM UTC.