M4.4 earthquake 35 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 35 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Jun 17, 1978, 10:35 PM GMT-11 (09:35 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 90 km ENE 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
- 4.4 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-06-18 09:35:00 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.080° S, 173.493° 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
- 14
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.999 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17601 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.488 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17595 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
- 5.890 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17594 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
- 5.589 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17589 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
- 5.386 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17587 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000v4c. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 2:38 AM UTC.