M5.4 earthquake 163 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 163 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Dec 24, 1987, 1:33 PM GMT-11 (00:33 UTC), 26 km (16 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-12-25 00:33:53 UTC
- Depth
- 25.6 km (15.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.843° S, 172.572° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.36 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.4 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 11S, 21C Centroid Location: Origin Time 00:33:59.3 0.8 Lat 17.01S 0.07 Lon 172.43W 0.09 Dep 15.0 FIX Half-duration 1.8 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=0.81 0.04 Mtt=0.00 0.06 Mff=-0.81 0.06 Mrt=-0.25 0.15 Mrf=1.04 0.18 Mtf=-0.23 0.05 Principal Axes: (T) Val=1.39 Plg=61 Azm=243 (N) Val=-0.06 Plg=14 Azm=358 (P) Val=-1.32 Plg=25 Azm=95 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.4*10**17 NP1:Strike=213 Dip=23 Slip=127 NP2:Strike=353 Dip=72 Slip=76
From the USGS event page for usp0003bhr. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.078 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14152 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away
- 4.483 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14152 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.7156 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14114 days ago · 34 km deep · 37 km away
- 5.0241 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14105 days ago · 39 km deep · 78 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003bhr (also filed as gcmtb122587a, gcmt19871225003353, iscgem451498). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 12:29 PM UTC.