M4.8 earthquake 184 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 184 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Mon, Dec 31, 2018, 6:29 AM GMT+13 (17:29 UTC), 97 km (60 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 279 km SW of Vaini, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-12-30 17:29:58 UTC
- Depth
- 97.0 km (60.3 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.541° S, 176.220° 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 12.0 km horizontally, 6.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.08
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 84°
- Stations used
- 55
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6192 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 2828 days ago · 83 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.5140 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2820 days ago · 35 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.9279 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 2793 days ago · 167 km deep · 97 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000j55r. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC.