M4.2 earthquake 188 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 188 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Sun, Dec 13, 2020, 6:09 PM GMT+13 (05:09 UTC), 122 km (76 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 226 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-12-13 05:09:04 UTC
- Depth
- 121.6 km (75.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.604° S, 176.197° 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 14.8 km horizontally, 10.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.15
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 120°
- Stations used
- 20
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5176 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 2114 days ago · 137 km deep · 13 km away
- 4.5153 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2088 days ago · 35 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.7149 km SW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 2079 days ago · 104 km deep · 78 km away
- 5.2226 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 2067 days ago · 10 km deep · 98 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000crts. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:06 PM UTC.