M4.8 earthquake 180 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 180 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Sat, Aug 27, 2016, 9:38 AM GMT+13 (20:38 UTC), 62 km (39 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 97 km SW 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
- 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-08-26 20:38:15 UTC
- Depth
- 62.1 km (38.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.453° S, 176.291° 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 13.9 km horizontally, 3.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.14
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 118°
- Stations used
- 23
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.297 km SW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3684 days ago · 10 km deep · 92 km away · felt by 1
- 4.2221 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 3683 days ago · 153 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.4171 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 3667 days ago · 206 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.4255 km SW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3662 days ago · 10 km deep · 89 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20006vev. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 9:25 AM UTC.