M5.5 earthquake - 276 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

What happened

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 276 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on 16 Oct 2017, 18:36 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 292 km away in Tongatapu, Tonga.