Tonga earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 118 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 118 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Oct 9, 2016, 12:25 PM GMT+14 (22:25 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.1 127 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Apia forecast More in Tonga

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sun, Oct 9, 2016, 12:25 PM GMT+14
UTC: 2016-10-08 22:25:27 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.023° S, 174.340° 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 · ±0.088 · 41 stations
5.29	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 9.1 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.09
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 50°
Stations used: 52

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Apia, SamoaPopulation 40,407. Forecast307 kmWSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

4.5121 km NNE of Hihifo, TongaFri, Sep 16, 12:35 AM GMT+13 · 3670 days ago · 19 km deep · 87 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20007cus (also filed as iscgem609583870). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:54 PM UTC.