LIGHT EARTHQUAKE
144 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 144 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on 22 Oct 2026, 16:51 UTC. The hypocentre was 35 km below the surface — shallow by seismological convention. 4 other earthquakes above our reporting threshold have been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.
- Depth
- 35 km
- Latitude
- 22.56°S
- Time
- 16:51 UTC
- Magnitude
- M4.8
shallow
175.44°W longitude
22 Oct 2026
mb
EPICENTRE
MAGNITUDE 4.8
Noticeable shaking of indoor objects. Damage is unlikely.
The scale is logarithmic: this released about 500 times the energy of a magnitude 3.0, roughly the energy of 239 tonnes of TNT.
35 KM DEEP
Shallow earthquakes release their energy close to the surface, so they are felt more strongly, and do more damage, than deeper earthquakes of the same magnitude.
NEARBY IN THE PAST 30 DAYS
4 earthquakes above our reporting threshold within 250 km of this one, the largest a magnitude 5.2.
OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES
22 Oct 2026, 18:06 UTC · 10 km deep
22 Oct 2026, 17:21 UTC · 76.3 km deep
22 Oct 2026, 15:45 UTC · 10 km deep
22 Oct 2026, 15:12 UTC · 10 km deep