M5.5 earthquake 184 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 184 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Oct 5, 1968, 5:15 PM GMT-12 (05:15 UTC), 25 km (16 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.1 194 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1968-10-06 05:15:12 UTC
- Depth
- 25.0 km (15.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.139° S, 175.300° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.25
- Depth from
- From location
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.1194 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 21170 days ago · 10 km deep · 25 km away
- 5.9186 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 21167 days ago · 15 km deep · 22 km away
- 6.4211 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 21120 days ago · 25 km deep · 54 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem815661. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:36 AM UTC.