M4.4 earthquake 138 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 138 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga on Mon, Dec 18, 2017, 10:23 PM GMT-12 (10:23 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 160 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.4 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-12-19 10:23:31 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.468° S, 173.568° 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 7.8 km horizontally, 2.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.20
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 128°
- Stations used
- 11
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.2150 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3207 days ago · 131 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.443 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 3192 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.359 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3180 days ago · 10 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.7160 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3165 days ago · 35 km deep · 97 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000bzcf. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:50 PM UTC.