M4.8 earthquake 151 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 151 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, Sep 13, 1978, 5:08 PM GMT-12 (05:08 UTC), 113 km (70 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 185 km NW of Neiafu, 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
- 1978-09-14 05:08:41 UTC
- Depth
- 113.0 km (70.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 17.269° S, 174.186° 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
- 14
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 2 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 usp0000whv. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 7:18 PM UTC.