M4.6 earthquake 196 km E of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 196 km E of Neiafu, Tonga on Sun, Dec 15, 2019, 5:50 PM GMT-11 (04:50 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 199 km E 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
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2019-12-16 04:50:33 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.405° S, 172.140° 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 7.1 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.13
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 69°
- Stations used
- 24
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.2187 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2467 days ago · 10 km deep · 16 km away
- 4.9187 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 2464 days ago · 10 km deep · 29 km away
- 4.4202 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 2464 days ago · 10 km deep · 13 km away
- 5.0199 km E of Neiafu, Tonga · 2464 days ago · 10 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.6207 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2461 days ago · 10 km deep · 36 km away
- 4.5170 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2446 days ago · 10 km deep · 69 km away
- 4.8134 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2435 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us60006s10. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 8:39 PM UTC.