M4.7 earthquake 28 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 28 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Feb 7, 1978, 7:47 AM GMT-11 (18:47 UTC), 146 km (91 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 81 km NE 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
- 4.7 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-02-07 18:47:51 UTC
- Depth
- 146.0 km (90.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.731° S, 173.919° 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
- 7
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.372 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17743 days ago · 167 km deep · 88 km away
- 5.481 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17737 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
- 6.279 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17735 days ago · 33 km deep · 65 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000sv6. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:57 AM UTC.