M3.7 earthquake 119 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 119 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Jan 20, 2008, 2:21 AM GMT-12 (14:21 UTC), 172 km (107 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
- 3.7 (mb, body-wave), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-01-20 14:21:00 UTC
- Depth
- 172.0 km (106.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.877° S, 174.386° 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 usp000fx38. 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
- FROM_LOCATION
- Station coverage gap
- 185°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 10
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.355 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6829 days ago · 17 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.4141 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 6824 days ago · 59 km deep · 68 km away
- 3.996 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6819 days ago · 35 km deep · 92 km away
- 3.8142 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6800 days ago · 179 km deep · 40 km away
- 4.093 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6776 days ago · 91 km deep · 27 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fx38. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:51 PM UTC.