M5.2 earthquake - 261 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

What happened

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 261 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on 3 Oct 2016, 18:07 UTC at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Nuku‘alofa, about 280 km away in Tongatapu, Tonga.