M4.2 earthquake 109 km S of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 109 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Nov 22, 1979, 1:08 AM GMT-12 (13:08 UTC), 123 km (76 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 142 km SW 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
- 4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-11-22 13:08:55 UTC
- Depth
- 123.0 km (76.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.937° S, 173.949° 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 1.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7142 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17101 days ago · 224 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.3119 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17067 days ago · 158 km deep · 91 km away
Before
- 5.0Tonga · 17118 days ago · 192 km deep · 70 km away
- 4.588 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17119 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.084 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17119 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.7131 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 17122 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
- 5.2115 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17123 days ago · 91 km deep · 28 km away
- 4.7148 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17133 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.767 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17133 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
- 5.0129 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17140 days ago · 263 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.194 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17143 days ago · 22 km deep · 89 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000144s. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 5:13 PM UTC.