M4.7 earthquake 29 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 29 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Dec 9, 1978, 2:03 PM GMT-11 (01:03 UTC), 135 km (84 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
- 4.7 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-12-10 01:03:09 UTC
- Depth
- 135.0 km (83.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.808° S, 174.025° 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
- 13
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 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.072 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17409 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.278 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17404 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
- 5.467 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 17402 days ago · 37 km deep · 88 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000xv2. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 2:45 AM UTC.