Samoa earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake 146 km SSW of Gataivai, Samoa

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 146 km SSW of Gataivai, Samoa on Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:18 PM GMT+14 (04:18 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

Apia forecast More in Samoa

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.1 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:18 PM GMT+14
UTC: 2018-01-18 04:18:20 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.049° S, 172.748° W
Region: Samoa
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
5.1	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.035 · 260 stations
5.15	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1

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 11.6 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 94°
Stations used: 88

Nearest places

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

Apia, SamoaPopulation 40,407. Forecast172 kmSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Samoa earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000ckn2 (also filed as iscgem611649943). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:36 AM UTC.