M4.5 earthquake 180 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 180 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga on Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 3:21 PM GMT-11 (02:21 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 96 km ENE 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
- 2021-03-18 02:21:57 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 18.235° S, 172.330° 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 8.7 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.14
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 171°
- Stations used
- 20
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.683 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2018 days ago · 10 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.9130 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 2008 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.6140 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 1986 days ago · 10 km deep · 66 km away
- 5.196 km ENE of Neiafu, Tonga · 1976 days ago · 10 km deep · 89 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000dwmv. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 12:46 AM UTC.