M4.5 earthquake 172 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 172 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga on Sun, Dec 18, 2016, 6:08 PM GMT-12 (06:08 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 164 km ENE 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
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-12-19 06:08:25 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.679° S, 172.707° 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 8.8 km horizontally, 2.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.13
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 123°
- Stations used
- 22
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.1210 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3563 days ago · 38 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.4250 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3551 days ago · 23 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.4207 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3550 days ago · 46 km deep · 35 km away
- 4.9164 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3537 days ago · 10 km deep · 64 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10007rcb. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 9:38 AM UTC.