M4.5 earthquake 214 km NW of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 214 km NW of Pangai, Tonga on Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 5:27 PM GMT+13 (04:27 UTC), 288 km (179 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 160 km W of Neiafu, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-12-13 04:27:11 UTC
- Depth
- 287.9 km (178.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.740° S, 176.057° 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 11.4 km horizontally, 7.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.09
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 95°
- Stations used
- 53
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.3125 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 2842 days ago · 250 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.6160 km W of Neiafu, Tonga · 2796 days ago · 251 km deep · 62 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000it51. Read Fri, Sep 25, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC.