M4.5 earthquake 111 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 111 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Nov 23, 1973, 7:56 AM GMT-12 (19:56 UTC), 150 km (93 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 135 km SSW 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
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-11-23 19:56:08 UTC
- Depth
- 150.0 km (93.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.632° S, 174.566° 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
- 7
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 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 usp000048h. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 3:29 AM UTC.