M5.6 earthquake 33 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 33 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Jul 23, 1970, 4:45 AM GMT-11 (15:45 UTC), 80 km (50 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 101 km NE 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
- 5.6 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1970-07-23 15:45:14 UTC
- Depth
- 80.0 km (49.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.834° S, 173.514° 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
- ±0.21
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem793965. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 7:56 PM UTC.