Tonga earthquakes

M6.8 earthquake 109 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 109 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, Dec 5, 2022, 8:24 AM GMT+13 (19:24 UTC), 38 km (24 mi) below the surface.

Apia forecast More in Tonga

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.8 (Mww, W-phase moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Mon, Dec 5, 2022, 8:24 AM GMT+13
UTC: 2022-12-04 19:24:15 UTC
Depth: 38.0 km (23.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.350° S, 172.987° W
Region: Tonga
Felt reports: 19
Strongest shaking: V, moderate shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: Yes: a large quake in an oceanic region
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
6.8	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.056 · 31 stations
6.9	Mi	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 9 stations
6.9	Mi	NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center	Reviewed · 8 stations
6.8	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
6.7	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
6.8	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS, automatic first solution	First automatic solution · Confirmed

Tsunami

The USGS flags a quake this large in an oceanic region. The flag does not mean a tsunami happened; the tsunami warning centers decide that, and their messages are below when they issued any.

Tsunami Information Bulletin from the PTWC. Read the message

Current tsunami warnings: tsunami.gov. Warnings in force in the US also appear on our alerts pages.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: V, moderate shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 6.3% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 6.9 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

19 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate shaking.

Estimated impact

The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.

Alert level: Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected

Deaths: estimated chance of each range
Range	Chance
Under 1	65%
1 to 10	30%
10 to 100	4%
100 to 1,000	Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000	Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000	Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000	Under 1%

Economic losses: estimated chance of each range
Range, million USD	Chance
Under 1	65%
1 to 10	30%
10 to 100	4%
100 to 1,000	Under 1%
1,000 to 10,000	Under 1%
10,000 to 100,000	Under 1%
100,000 to 10,000,000	Under 1%

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Oblique normal
Moment magnitude: 6.8 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 274°, dip 20°, rake -120°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 126°, dip 73°, rake -80°
Landslide alert: Green
Liquefaction alert: Green

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 7.5 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.06
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 26°
Stations used: 152

Nearest places

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

Apia, SamoaPopulation 40,407. Forecast214 kmSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.8 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000j6w8 (also filed as pt22338001, at00rmdskr, usauto6000j6w8). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 9:20 AM UTC.