Tonga earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 154 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 154 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 2:47 AM GMT+13 (13:47 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.9 83 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Tonga

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.5 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
2021-08-15 13:47:15 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
22.260° S, 173.839° 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 11.0 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.13
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
116°
Stations used
21

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.0113 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1868 days ago · 10 km deep · 80 km away
  2. 4.8158 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1865 days ago · 10 km deep · 62 km away
  3. 4.7151 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1858 days ago · 16 km deep · 67 km away
  4. 4.6157 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1857 days ago · 10 km deep · 62 km away
  5. 4.3155 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1853 days ago · 10 km deep · 66 km away
  6. 5.983 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1851 days ago · 10 km deep · 82 km away · felt by 3
  7. 4.7171 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1841 days ago · 10 km deep · 72 km away
  8. 4.893 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1833 days ago · 10 km deep · 93 km away
  9. 4.3146 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1826 days ago · 10 km deep · 72 km away
  10. 4.6154 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1817 days ago · 10 km deep · 42 km away

Before

  1. 5.6127 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1873 days ago · 10 km deep · 75 km away
  2. 4.6157 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1879 days ago · 10 km deep · 50 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000f482. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC.