Tonga earthquakes

M4.6 earthquake 260 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 260 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Thu, Dec 23, 2021, 10:22 AM GMT+13 (21:22 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 266 km SSW 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
4.6 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
2021-12-22 21:22:38 UTC
Depth
35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter
23.585° S, 175.695° 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 6.8 km horizontally, 2.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.16
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
187°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
19

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 17 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.4264 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1741 days ago · 10 km deep · 41 km away
  2. 4.9211 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1739 days ago · 10 km deep · 60 km away
  3. 4.7286 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1724 days ago · 35 km deep · 68 km away
  4. 4.5south of Tonga · 1717 days ago · 35 km deep · 93 km away
  5. 4.9208 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1700 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
  6. 4.5south of Tonga · 1699 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away
  7. 5.0284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1695 days ago · 10 km deep · 24 km away
  8. 5.2266 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1695 days ago · 10 km deep · 13 km away
  9. 5.0282 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1694 days ago · 10 km deep · 23 km away
  10. 4.2241 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1693 days ago · 10 km deep · 21 km away
  11. 4.4south of the Fiji Islands · 1693 days ago · 51 km deep · 80 km away
  12. 4.6south of the Fiji Islands · 1691 days ago · 59 km deep · 50 km away
  13. 4.9264 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1691 days ago · 10 km deep · 54 km away
  14. 4.9251 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1691 days ago · 10 km deep · 13 km away
  15. 5.0south of Tonga · 1686 days ago · 10 km deep · 69 km away
  16. 4.9Tonga region · 1685 days ago · 10 km deep · 45 km away
  17. 5.2261 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1684 days ago · 10 km deep · 14 km away

Before

  1. 5.1256 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1755 days ago · 10 km deep · 44 km away
  2. 4.6282 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1758 days ago · 10 km deep · 62 km away
  3. 4.3204 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1760 days ago · 68 km deep · 80 km away
  4. 4.4274 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1761 days ago · 47 km deep · 33 km away
  5. 4.9220 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1762 days ago · 10 km deep · 48 km away
  6. 4.6229 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1762 days ago · 10 km deep · 98 km away
  7. 5.5226 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1762 days ago · 10 km deep · 74 km away
  8. 4.9229 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 1768 days ago · 35 km deep · 36 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000g98v. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 3:04 AM UTC.