M5.0 earthquake 53 km NE of Kolonga, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 53 km NE of Kolonga, Tonga on Mon, Aug 13, 2018, 5:43 AM GMT+13 (16:43 UTC), 27 km (17 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 118 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-08-12 16:43:54 UTC
- Depth
- 26.6 km (16.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.859° S, 174.644° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Felt reports
- 2
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
2 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 10.3 km horizontally, 4.4 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 64°
- Stations used
- 36
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000g79c. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 3:24 PM UTC.