Tonga earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 79 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 79 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 11:26 AM GMT+14 (21:26 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

Nuku‘alofa forecast More in Tonga

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 11:26 AM GMT+14
UTC: 2016-12-14 21:26:47 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 21.922° S, 174.509° 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
5.3	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.061 · 89 stations
5.31	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 7.9 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.06
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 67°
Stations used: 128

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast113 kmSE

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us200080ti (also filed as iscgem609854766). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:58 AM UTC.