M6.2 earthquake 26 km S of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 26 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Feb 6, 1988, 10:30 AM GMT-11 (21:30 UTC), 126 km (78 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.2 (Mw, moment), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1988-02-06 21:30:04 UTC
- Depth
- 125.5 km (78.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.195° S, 173.820° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.2 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.15 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=185 Dip=85 Slip=-90 NP2:Strike=5 Dip=5 Slip=-90 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=40 Azm=275 (P) Plg=50 Azm=95 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to reverse faulting. The preferred fault plane is NP1. CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 16S, 40C Centroid Location: Origin Time 21:30:11.0 0.3 Lat 16.10S 0.03 Lon 173.49W 0.03 Dep 124.0 1.1 Half-duration 4.6 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm Mrr=-0.35 0.03 Mtt=-0.12 0.06 Mff=0.47 0.06 Mrt=0.19 0.03 Mrf=2.05 0.04 Mtf=0.11 0.05 Principal Axes: (T) Val=2.17 Plg=39 Azm=277 (N) Val=-0.14 Plg=1 Azm=186 (P) Val=-2.03 Plg=51 Azm=94 Best Double Couple:Mo=2.1*10**18 NP1:Strike=19 Dip=6 Slip=-76 NP2:Strike=185 Dip=84 Slip=-91
From the USGS event page for usp0003ctk. 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 3.2 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003ctk (also filed as gcmtb020688g, gcmt19880206213004, iscgem445005). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 3:35 AM UTC.