M5.3 earthquake 87 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 87 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Wed, Dec 20, 2017, 11:52 AM GMT+13 (22:52 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-12-19 22:52:52 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.496° S, 173.935° W
- Region
- Tonga
- 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 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.086 · 13 stations |
| 5.27 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 5.3 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 46°, dip 27°, rake 113°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 200°, dip 66°, rake 79°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 8.3 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 76°
- Stations used
- 146
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.
Before
- 4.9111 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3216 days ago · 10 km deep · 38 km away
- 4.6132 km E of Pangai, Tonga · 3217 days ago · 26 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.9137 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3218 days ago · 10 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.7117 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3218 days ago · 10 km deep · 39 km away
- 5.7130 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3219 days ago · 7 km deep · 44 km away
- 5.0132 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3230 days ago · 10 km deep · 45 km away
- 5.0111 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3230 days ago · 10 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.6100 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 3234 days ago · 10 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.7102 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 3235 days ago · 10 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.6137 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3237 days ago · 10 km deep · 56 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000bte7 (also filed as iscgem611605888). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC.