M4.3 earthquake 24 km W of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 24 km W of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Jan 20, 1973, 11:37 PM GMT-11 (10:37 UTC), 87 km (54 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 29 km WNW 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
- 4.3 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-01-21 10:37:39 UTC
- Depth
- 87.0 km (54.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.944° S, 174.028° 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.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 10
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 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 usp0000083. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:25 PM UTC.