M5.0 earthquake 138 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 138 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga on Sun, Dec 2, 2018, 7:24 AM GMT+13 (18:24 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
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
- 2018-12-01 18:24:06 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.195° S, 172.804° W
- Region
- Tonga
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.083 · 48 stations |
| 5.22 | 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 8.1 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.08
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 79°
- Stations used
- 60
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5122 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2848 days ago · 10 km deep · 16 km away
- 4.894 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 2828 days ago · 10 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.9108 km ENE of Pangai, Tonga · 2823 days ago · 10 km deep · 70 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000hzu1 (also filed as iscgem614402350). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:17 AM UTC.