M4.8 earthquake 166 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 166 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Wed, Oct 3, 1973, 9:38 PM GMT+13 (08:38 UTC), 91 km (57 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 214 km SW of Haveluloto, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1973-10-03 08:38:33 UTC
- Depth
- 91.0 km (56.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.211° S, 176.362° 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.
- Stations used
- 30
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 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 usp00003ns. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:23 AM UTC.