M4.3 earthquake 25 km S of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 25 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Dec 9, 1978, 4:32 AM GMT-11 (15:32 UTC), 122 km (76 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 67 km S 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
- 4.3 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-12-09 15:32:03 UTC
- Depth
- 122.0 km (75.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.181° S, 173.773° 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
- 8
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 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.729 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17460 days ago · 135 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.790 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17416 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.072 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17409 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
- 5.278 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17404 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
- 5.467 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 17402 days ago · 37 km deep · 42 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000xut. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC.