M4.9 earthquake 96 km S of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 96 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Dec 1, 2007, 12:49 PM GMT-11 (23:49 UTC), 42 km (26 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 55 km SSE 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
- 2007-12-01 23:49:27 UTC
- Depth
- 42.3 km (26.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.810° S, 173.635° 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 usp000ftpu. 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 177°, dip 11°, rake 117°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 329°, dip 80°, rake 85°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 58°
- Stations used
- 88
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1142 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6860 days ago · 85 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.7144 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6860 days ago · 78 km deep · 71 km away
- 3.862 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6852 days ago · 10 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.992 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6839 days ago · 35 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.786 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6837 days ago · 35 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.7149 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6831 days ago · 97 km deep · 88 km away
- 3.7119 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6831 days ago · 172 km deep · 80 km away
- 5.355 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6829 days ago · 17 km deep · 43 km away
- 4.4141 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 6824 days ago · 59 km deep · 52 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ftpu (also filed as gcmtc200712012349a, gcmt20071201234927). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:14 AM UTC.