M5.2 earthquake 162 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 162 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Wed, Sep 21, 2016, 6:44 PM GMT+13 (05:44 UTC), 241 km (150 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.4 118 km WNW 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
- 2016-09-21 05:44:05 UTC
- Depth
- 240.6 km (149.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.084° S, 175.407° 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 · ±0.025 · 535 stations |
| 5.46 | 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 8.5 km horizontally, 4.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.03
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 29°
- Stations used
- 106
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 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.4118 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3661 days ago · 202 km deep · 46 km away · felt by 5
- 4.5146 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3648 days ago · 201 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.3208 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3637 days ago · 10 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.4162 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3627 days ago · 225 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.8154 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3624 days ago · 211 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.1166 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3617 days ago · 247 km deep · 94 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10006rae (also filed as iscgem609577570). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:06 PM UTC.