M5.8 earthquake 87 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 87 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Feb 15, 1973, 5:51 PM GMT-11 (04:51 UTC), 50 km (31 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-02-16 04:51:01 UTC
- Depth
- 50.0 km (31.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.307° S, 173.322° 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
- 56
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.8 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.381 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19577 days ago · 33 km deep · 12 km away
- 5.295 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19577 days ago · 33 km deep · 20 km away
- 5.690 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19562 days ago · 8 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.9133 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19562 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00000jb (also filed as iscgem763974). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 4:41 PM UTC.