Tonga earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 82 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 82 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Dec 8, 2017, 1:10 PM GMT+14 (23:10 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 113 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Apia forecast More in Tonga

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Fri, Dec 8, 2017, 1:10 PM GMT+14
UTC: 2017-12-07 23:10:00 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.277° S, 173.466° W
Region: Tonga
Felt reports: 1
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 · ±0.028 · 431 stations
5.4	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 8.7 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.03
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 45°
Stations used: 477

Nearest places

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

Apia, SamoaPopulation 40,407. Forecast243 kmSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 16 in the 60 days after this one and 6 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 us2000c1w5 (also filed as iscgem611584490). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:38 AM UTC.