M4.7 earthquake 140 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 140 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, May 21, 2018, 11:17 AM GMT+13 (22:17 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 141 km SSW of Gataivai, Samoa. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-05-20 22:17:31 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.378° S, 172.626° 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 7.9 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 88°
- Stations used
- 95
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.599 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3046 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
- 5.8141 km SSW of Gataivai, Samoa · 3046 days ago · 10 km deep · 55 km away
- 5.4133 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3046 days ago · 10 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.698 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 3045 days ago · 35 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.586 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3044 days ago · 10 km deep · 89 km away
- 5.0Samoa Islands region · 3039 days ago · 10 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.5129 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3037 days ago · 25 km deep · 90 km away
- 5.3117 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3033 days ago · 55 km deep · 24 km away · felt by 9
- 4.9124 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3022 days ago · 10 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.878 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3011 days ago · 10 km deep · 83 km away · felt by 1
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000e93x. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:48 AM UTC.