M5.4 earthquake 144 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 144 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Jul 7, 1978, 9:11 PM GMT-11 (08:11 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-07-08 08:11:19 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.737° S, 172.709° 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
- 83
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.0147 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 17595 days ago · 33 km deep · 81 km away
- 4.699 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 17552 days ago · 39 km deep · 85 km away
Before
- 4.9204 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17609 days ago · 41 km deep · 68 km away
- 5.0173 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17612 days ago · 29 km deep · 29 km away
- 5.1206 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 17614 days ago · 33 km deep · 83 km away
- 5.4184 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17619 days ago · 33 km deep · 44 km away
- 7.0206 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17629 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000vfn (also filed as gcmtb070878b, gcmt19780708081119, iscgem679109). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:59 PM UTC.