M3.6 earthquake 148 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 148 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Dec 28, 2008, 3:20 AM GMT-12 (15:20 UTC), 200 km (124 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 149 km WSW 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
- 3.6 (mb, body-wave), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-12-28 15:20:47 UTC
- Depth
- 200.0 km (124.3 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.745° S, 174.918° 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 usp000grqf. 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
- 154°
- Stations used
- 14
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
- 4.881 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6501 days ago · 140 km deep · 69 km away
- 3.859 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6503 days ago · 77 km deep · 98 km away
- 3.6160 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 6504 days ago · 304 km deep · 98 km away
- 3.5124 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6510 days ago · 185 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.499 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 6514 days ago · 104 km deep · 87 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000grqf. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 12:12 AM UTC.