M4.9 earthquake 184 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 184 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Oct 11, 2007, 9:23 PM GMT-11 (08:23 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 135 km ESE 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
- 4.9 (Mwc, centroid moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2007-10-12 08:23:16 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.107° S, 172.545° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 4.9 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
no people dead or missing; no people injured; no buildings damaged or destroyed
From the USGS event page for usp000fqcd. 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.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Normal
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 214°, dip 47°, rake -65°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 359°, dip 49°, rake -114°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 76°
- Stations used
- 48
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4195 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6927 days ago · 26 km deep · 16 km away
- 4.3114 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6919 days ago · 35 km deep · 85 km away
- 5.1107 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6887 days ago · 35 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.2135 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6887 days ago · 35 km deep · 71 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fqcd (also filed as gcmtc200710120823a, gcmt20071012082316). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:21 PM UTC.