M4.6 earthquake 140 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 140 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga on Thu, Dec 8, 2016, 11:14 PM GMT+14 (09:14 UTC), 47 km (29 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
- 4.6 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-12-08 09:14:42 UTC
- Depth
- 47.0 km (29.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.052° S, 172.724° 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 11.0 km horizontally, 9.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.13
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 93°
- Stations used
- 23
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.579 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 3558 days ago · 10 km deep · 69 km away
- 4.9164 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3535 days ago · 10 km deep · 96 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20007z47. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:44 AM UTC.