M4.5 earthquake 103 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 103 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga on Mon, Mar 20, 2017, 1:38 PM GMT-12 (01:38 UTC), 43 km (27 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 119 km ESE 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
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-03-21 01:38:37 UTC
- Depth
- 42.7 km (26.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.046° S, 173.232° 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 13.8 km horizontally, 19.2 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.20
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 119°
- Stations used
- 12
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20008vbl. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:59 PM UTC.