M4.9 earthquake 118 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 118 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Mon, Aug 17, 2020, 5:21 AM GMT+13 (16:21 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 127 km SE of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-08-16 16:21:49 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.726° S, 173.756° 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 9.1 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 77°
- Stations used
- 59
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6116 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2221 days ago · 10 km deep · 55 km away
- 5.5127 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 2216 days ago · 10 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.7127 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2201 days ago · 10 km deep · 29 km away
- 4.2171 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2192 days ago · 10 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.9126 km E of Pangai, Tonga · 2188 days ago · 10 km deep · 100 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000bfn4. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC.