M4.7 earthquake 164 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 164 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Dec 23, 2008, 11:32 PM GMT-11 (10:32 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 216 km ESE 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
- 4.7 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-12-24 10:32:37 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.637° S, 172.430° 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 usp000grc1. 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
- 186°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 10
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.2162 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6479 days ago · 10 km deep · 4 km away
- 4.671 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6479 days ago · 81 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.5110 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 6458 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.5216 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6457 days ago · 10 km deep · 54 km away
- 4.6116 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6456 days ago · 47 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.674 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6446 days ago · 10 km deep · 92 km away
- 4.9100 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6440 days ago · 12 km deep · 77 km away
Before
- 4.6163 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6492 days ago · 35 km deep · 4 km away
- 6.0249 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6492 days ago · 9 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.8186 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6494 days ago · 35 km deep · 86 km away
- 5.0194 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 6494 days ago · 35 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.3137 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 6511 days ago · 18 km deep · 79 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000grc1. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 4:59 PM UTC.