M4.8 earthquake 186 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 186 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, Dec 22, 2008, 6:07 AM GMT-12 (18:07 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 249 km SE 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
- 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-12-22 18:07:04 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.330° S, 172.788° 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 usp000gr74. 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
- 72°
- Stations used
- 38
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.0249 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6492 days ago · 9 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.6163 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6492 days ago · 35 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.7164 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6492 days ago · 35 km deep · 86 km away
- 4.2162 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6479 days ago · 10 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.8144 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6459 days ago · 10 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.7160 km NE of Neiafu, Tonga · 6459 days ago · 10 km deep · 38 km away
- 5.5216 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6457 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
- 4.6116 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6456 days ago · 47 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.9100 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6440 days ago · 12 km deep · 88 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000gr74. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 3:07 PM UTC.