Tonga earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 158 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 158 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Nov 16, 2008, 6:37 PM GMT-12 (06:37 UTC), 227 km (141 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.8 81 km SW 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
2008-11-17 06:37:33 UTC
Depth
227.2 km (141.2 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
17.029° S, 174.781° 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 usp000gnw2. 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
100°
Stations used
72

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.4Tonga · 6521 days ago · 131 km deep · 85 km away
  2. 4.499 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6514 days ago · 104 km deep · 76 km away
  3. 3.5124 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6510 days ago · 185 km deep · 40 km away
  4. 3.6160 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6505 days ago · 304 km deep · 72 km away
  5. 4.881 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6502 days ago · 140 km deep · 78 km away
  6. 3.6148 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6489 days ago · 200 km deep · 35 km away

Before

  1. 4.2154 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6539 days ago · 223 km deep · 34 km away
  2. 3.4151 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6539 days ago · 150 km deep · 53 km away
  3. 3.6Tonga · 6542 days ago · 312 km deep · 27 km away
  4. 4.4165 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6542 days ago · 238 km deep · 31 km away
  5. 5.7152 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6542 days ago · 188 km deep · 55 km away
  6. 4.3149 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6557 days ago · 229 km deep · 28 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000gnw2. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 12:44 PM UTC.