M4.9 earthquake 123 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 123 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Tue, May 16, 2017, 8:07 PM GMT+13 (07:07 UTC), 55 km (34 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 172 km SW of Vaini, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-05-16 07:07:59 UTC
- Depth
- 54.9 km (34.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.970° S, 176.033° 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 12.8 km horizontally, 8.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.11
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 116°
- Stations used
- 30
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.395 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3426 days ago · 41 km deep · 76 km away
- 5.6172 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 3418 days ago · 127 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.6146 km WSW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 3412 days ago · 182 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.633 km SW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 3409 days ago · 10 km deep · 92 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10008sp8. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 2:13 AM UTC.