Tonga earthquakes

M5.8 earthquake 155 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 155 km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga on Tue, Dec 12, 2023, 5:00 PM GMT+13 (04:00 UTC), 265 km (165 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.4 148 km NW of Fangale’ounga, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa 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: 5.8 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, Dec 12, 2023, 5:00 PM GMT+13
UTC: 2023-12-12 04:00:16 UTC
Depth: 265.0 km (164.7 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 18.040° S, 175.304° W
Region: Tonga
Felt reports: 2
Strongest shaking: III, weak shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: No
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
5.8	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.06 · 27 stations
5.9	Mi	NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center	First automatic solution · Reviewed · 7 stations
5.9	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
5.9	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS, automatic first solution	First automatic solution · Confirmed

Shaking

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

Strongest estimated: III, weak shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 0.3% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 0.1 cm/s
Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

2 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak 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: 5.8 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 259°, dip 10°, rake -51°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 40°, dip 82°, rake -97°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 9.1 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.06
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 35°
Stations used: 133

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast345 kmN

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.8 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 4 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 us7000lib1 (also filed as usauto7000lib1, pt23346000). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:14 PM UTC.