M5.1 earthquake 212 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 212 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Dec 18, 2016, 4:24 PM GMT+14 (02:24 UTC), 51 km (31 mi) below the surface.
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
- 2016-12-18 02:24:46 UTC
- Depth
- 50.5 km (31.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.102° S, 175.750° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.066 · 75 stations |
| 5.14 | 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 7.1 km horizontally, 5.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 86°
- Stations used
- 83
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9151 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 3573 days ago · 131 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.7226 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3527 days ago · 10 km deep · 54 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20008246 (also filed as iscgem609925092). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:02 PM UTC.