Tonga earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake 111 km SE of Pangai, Tonga

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 111 km SE of Pangai, Tonga on Fri, Dec 15, 2017, 8:38 AM GMT+13 (19:38 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.3 87 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Tonga

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2017-12-14 19:38:06 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
20.504° S, 173.570° 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 13.5 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.07
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
103°
Stations used
52

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.387 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3212 days ago · 10 km deep · 38 km away

Before

  1. 4.6132 km E of Pangai, Tonga · 3218 days ago · 26 km deep · 70 km away
  2. 4.9137 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3219 days ago · 10 km deep · 41 km away
  3. 4.7117 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3219 days ago · 10 km deep · 7 km away
  4. 5.7130 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3220 days ago · 7 km deep · 40 km away
  5. 5.0132 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3231 days ago · 10 km deep · 43 km away
  6. 5.0111 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3231 days ago · 10 km deep · 22 km away
  7. 4.6100 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 3235 days ago · 10 km deep · 34 km away
  8. 4.7102 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 3236 days ago · 10 km deep · 51 km away
  9. 4.6137 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3238 days ago · 10 km deep · 26 km away
  10. 4.682 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3245 days ago · 10 km deep · 45 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000buc8. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 11:56 AM UTC.