M5.2 earthquake 175 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 175 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Mar 25, 2018, 2:53 PM GMT+13 (01:53 UTC), 13 km (8 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 150 km SSE 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
- 5.2 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-03-25 01:53:20 UTC
- Depth
- 13.1 km (8.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.919° S, 174.927° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.071 · 19 stations |
| 5.25 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 5.2 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 16°, dip 44°, rake 90°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 196°, dip 46°, rake 90°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 8.1 km horizontally, 3.3 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.07
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 40°
- Stations used
- 229
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2265 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3092 days ago · 10 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.3150 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3088 days ago · 10 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.6178 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3078 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.0242 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3073 days ago · 10 km deep · 70 km away
- 4.7175 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3058 days ago · 10 km deep · 20 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000d8sa (also filed as iscgem611818817). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:39 AM UTC.