Tonga earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 118 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 118 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, May 20, 2018, 2:14 PM GMT+13 (01:14 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 66 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Tonga

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2018-05-20 01:14:35 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
20.975° S, 173.878° 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 8.9 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.04
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
32°
Stations used
210

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.796 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3057 days ago · 35 km deep · 42 km away
  2. 4.6125 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3047 days ago · 10 km deep · 28 km away
  3. 4.996 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3014 days ago · 10 km deep · 74 km away
  4. 5.0112 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3013 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
  5. 4.9104 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3010 days ago · 10 km deep · 41 km away
  6. 5.266 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3004 days ago · 10 km deep · 72 km away

Before

  1. 5.6104 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3058 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
  2. 4.677 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 3059 days ago · 10 km deep · 65 km away
  3. 4.9102 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3064 days ago · 26 km deep · 61 km away
  4. 5.5121 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3065 days ago · 10 km deep · 23 km away
  5. 5.0120 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3070 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
  6. 4.3101 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3072 days ago · 10 km deep · 33 km away
  7. 4.487 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 3085 days ago · 10 km deep · 67 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000e8th. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 12:03 AM UTC.