M4.6 earthquake 126 km S of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 126 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 4:17 AM GMT-12 (16:17 UTC), 40 km (25 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 145 km SSW 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
- 4.6 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-12-15 16:17:12 UTC
- Depth
- 39.9 km (24.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.094° S, 173.687° 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 11.8 km horizontally, 11.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.15
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 110°
- Stations used
- 25
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.3110 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3570 days ago · 64 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.393 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3563 days ago · 35 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.7141 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 3563 days ago · 93 km deep · 38 km away
- 4.7151 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 3556 days ago · 95 km deep · 58 km away
- 4.2150 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 3552 days ago · 107 km deep · 56 km away
- 5.1145 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3543 days ago · 110 km deep · 44 km away
- 4.7136 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3530 days ago · 117 km deep · 51 km away · felt by 1
- 4.487 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3519 days ago · 10 km deep · 98 km away
Before
- 4.6151 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3586 days ago · 166 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.574 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3589 days ago · 81 km deep · 53 km away
- 5.0146 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3589 days ago · 75 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.7114 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3590 days ago · 128 km deep · 43 km away
- 4.8168 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3592 days ago · 58 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.5108 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3600 days ago · 200 km deep · 35 km away
- 4.4150 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3605 days ago · 84 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.4134 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3606 days ago · 10 km deep · 12 km away
- 4.4128 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 3606 days ago · 10 km deep · 72 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10007m8u. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 8:20 AM UTC.