M5.6 earthquake 88 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 88 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Jul 27, 1973, 8:26 AM GMT-11 (19:26 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.1 79 km ESE 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 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-07-27 19:26:41 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.538° S, 173.090° 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
- 103
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.179 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 19413 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
- 5.1Samoa Islands region · 19387 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
- 5.1101 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 19365 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00002w1 (also filed as iscgem758768). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 2:53 PM UTC.