M5.2 earthquake 116 km SE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 116 km SE of Pangai, Tonga on Wed, Dec 14, 2016, 1:51 PM GMT+14 (23:51 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 125 km E 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
- 5.2 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-12-13 23:51:31 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.612° S, 173.631° 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 11.2 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 105°
- Stations used
- 55
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.4125 km E of Pangai, Tonga · 3578 days ago · 10 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.186 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3571 days ago · 35 km deep · 36 km away
- 4.5136 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3571 days ago · 10 km deep · 28 km away
- 4.8121 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 3550 days ago · 10 km deep · 75 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us200080lb. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:16 AM UTC.