M5.3 earthquake 81 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 81 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Feb 23, 1973, 2:06 PM GMT-11 (01:06 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 90 km NNE 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
- 5.3 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-02-24 01:06:11 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.412° S, 173.284° 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
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 34
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.295 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19568 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
- 5.690 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19554 days ago · 8 km deep · 36 km away
- 4.9133 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19554 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
- 4.622 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19543 days ago · 86 km deep · 92 km away
- 5.3142 km SW of Gataivai, Samoa · 19513 days ago · 49 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.633 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 19511 days ago · 54 km deep · 84 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00000p8 (also filed as iscgem764258). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:44 AM UTC.