Tonga earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 118 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 118 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Aug 8, 2008, 6:08 PM GMT-11 (05:08 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.3 77 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Apia forecastMore in Tonga

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2008-08-09 05:08:48 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
15.667° S, 172.728° 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 usp000ge8g. 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
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Station coverage gap
200°, poorly surrounded by stations
Stations used
17

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.591 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6628 days ago · 35 km deep · 28 km away
  2. 4.666 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6624 days ago · 15 km deep · 93 km away
  3. 5.197 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6619 days ago · 10 km deep · 66 km away
  4. 4.374 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 6610 days ago · 10 km deep · 45 km away
  5. 5.377 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6607 days ago · 10 km deep · 71 km away
  6. 4.088 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6591 days ago · 10 km deep · 92 km away
  7. 4.283 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6591 days ago · 35 km deep · 100 km away
  8. 4.686 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6590 days ago · 35 km deep · 92 km away
  9. 5.279 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6576 days ago · 10 km deep · 96 km away

Before

  1. 4.1104 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 6645 days ago · 115 km deep · 44 km away
  2. 4.693 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6646 days ago · 10 km deep · 33 km away
  3. 4.2107 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6647 days ago · 45 km deep · 23 km away
  4. 4.4100 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 6648 days ago · 35 km deep · 22 km away
  5. 5.4122 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6649 days ago · 10 km deep · 68 km away
  6. 4.7127 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6649 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
  7. 4.747 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6655 days ago · 10 km deep · 93 km away
  8. 4.476 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6655 days ago · 10 km deep · 42 km away

Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ge8g. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 12:52 PM UTC.