M5.1 earthquake 119 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 119 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Dec 11, 2016, 7:27 AM GMT+14 (17:27 UTC), 21 km (13 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 116 km SE of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-12-10 17:27:38 UTC
- Depth
- 20.9 km (13.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.044° S, 173.842° 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 10.5 km horizontally, 5.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 79°
- Stations used
- 50
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2116 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3582 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.186 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3571 days ago · 35 km deep · 62 km away
- 4.5136 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3571 days ago · 10 km deep · 27 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us200081kv. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:38 AM UTC.