M4.6 earthquake 131 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 131 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Dec 18, 2016, 8:16 AM GMT+14 (18:16 UTC), 9 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 48 km S of ‘Ohonua, 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
- 2016-12-17 18:16:03 UTC
- Depth
- 9.5 km (5.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.438° S, 175.430° 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 13.1 km horizontally, 6.2 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.17
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 133°
- Stations used
- 17
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.248 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3576 days ago · 10 km deep · 92 km away
- 5.1212 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3576 days ago · 51 km deep · 81 km away
- 4.9151 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 3573 days ago · 131 km deep · 66 km away
Before
- 5.255 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3579 days ago · 10 km deep · 96 km away · felt by 1
- 4.6165 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3580 days ago · 10 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.9164 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3581 days ago · 10 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.1Tonga region · 3581 days ago · 171 km deep · 56 km away
- 5.5199 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 3590 days ago · 155 km deep · 96 km away
- 5.0202 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3595 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10007prf. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:02 PM UTC.