Tonga earthquakes

M3.5 earthquake 124 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 124 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Jan 18, 2008, 11:42 PM GMT-11 (10:42 UTC), 268 km (167 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.1 201 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
3.5 (mb, body-wave), minor
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2008-01-19 10:42:03 UTC
Depth
268.0 km (166.5 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
15.653° S, 174.916° 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 usp000fx0u. 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
135°
Stations used
15

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 6.0182 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6831 days ago · 6 km deep · 62 km away
  2. 6.1201 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6831 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
  3. 4.7202 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6831 days ago · 10 km deep · 79 km away
  4. 5.273 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 6826 days ago · 20 km deep · 54 km away
  5. 5.5143 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6821 days ago · 34 km deep · 20 km away
  6. 5.090 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6811 days ago · 10 km deep · 48 km away
  7. 3.7142 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 6804 days ago · 271 km deep · 44 km away
  8. 5.0132 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 6777 days ago · 35 km deep · 37 km away

Before

  1. 4.2107 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 6849 days ago · 259 km deep · 33 km away
  2. 4.361 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6855 days ago · 35 km deep · 64 km away
  3. 4.3143 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6855 days ago · 35 km deep · 21 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fx0u. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 1:25 PM UTC.