M4.2 earthquake 107 km W of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 107 km W of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Jan 3, 2008, 6:48 PM GMT-12 (06:48 UTC), 259 km (161 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 182 km WNW 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
- 2008-01-04 06:48:20 UTC
- Depth
- 258.9 km (160.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.927° S, 174.798° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
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 usp000fvy7. 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.
- Station coverage gap
- 129°
- Stations used
- 23
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 3.5124 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6833 days ago · 268 km deep · 33 km away
- 6.0182 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6830 days ago · 6 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.273 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 6825 days ago · 20 km deep · 35 km away
- 5.5143 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6820 days ago · 34 km deep · 51 km away
- 5.090 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6809 days ago · 10 km deep · 57 km away
- 3.7142 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 6803 days ago · 271 km deep · 36 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fvy7. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:50 AM UTC.