M4.5 earthquake 46 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 46 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, Oct 19, 1977, 5:03 AM GMT-11 (16:03 UTC), 138 km (86 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 107 km WSW 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), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-10-19 16:03:46 UTC
- Depth
- 138.0 km (85.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.318° S, 174.015° 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
- 10
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 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 usp0000r4c. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:57 AM UTC.