M4.5 earthquake 69 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 69 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Jan 17, 2016, 4:27 PM GMT+14 (02:27 UTC), 154 km (95 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.8 64 km S 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
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-01-17 02:27:45 UTC
- Depth
- 153.5 km (95.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.406° S, 174.243° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 7.4 km horizontally, 4.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 69°
- Stations used
- 60
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.3117 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 3891 days ago · 308 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.864 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3888 days ago · 23 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.757 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3886 days ago · 35 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.8106 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3870 days ago · 56 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.567 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3864 days ago · 168 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.154 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3860 days ago · 94 km deep · 21 km away
- 4.521 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3858 days ago · 107 km deep · 89 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10004f4h. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:40 AM UTC.