Tonga earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 73 km S of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 73 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, May 7, 2008, 8:01 PM GMT-11 (07:01 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 58 km SSW 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
4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2008-05-08 07:01:59 UTC
Depth
15.0 km (9.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
16.607° S, 173.672° 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 usp000g5ud. 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
143°
Stations used
53

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.49 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6721 days ago · 98 km deep · 73 km away
  2. 4.5124 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6719 days ago · 98 km deep · 76 km away
  3. 3.865 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6707 days ago · 119 km deep · 91 km away
  4. 4.415 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6697 days ago · 82 km deep · 60 km away
  5. 4.593 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6680 days ago · 35 km deep · 56 km away
  6. 4.574 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6680 days ago · 35 km deep · 35 km away
  7. 3.943 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6680 days ago · 15 km deep · 58 km away
  8. 4.761 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 6675 days ago · 10 km deep · 19 km away
  9. 4.3114 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 6673 days ago · 35 km deep · 42 km away
  10. 4.4143 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 6667 days ago · 10 km deep · 75 km away
  11. 3.895 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6664 days ago · 105 km deep · 49 km away
  12. 5.558 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6662 days ago · 116 km deep · 45 km away

Before

  1. 5.027 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 6733 days ago · 132 km deep · 83 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000g5ud. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 6:08 AM UTC.