M4.2 earthquake 150 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 150 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Dec 21, 2017, 5:48 AM GMT-12 (17:48 UTC), 131 km (82 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 73 km SW 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
- 4.2 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-12-21 17:48:33 UTC
- Depth
- 131.4 km (81.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 17.287° S, 174.087° 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 9.0 km horizontally, 18.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.20
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 134°
- Stations used
- 10
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.973 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3185 days ago · 147 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.359 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3180 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.7160 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3165 days ago · 35 km deep · 40 km away
Before
- 4.4138 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3209 days ago · 10 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.6129 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3213 days ago · 90 km deep · 24 km away
- 4.3116 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3219 days ago · 110 km deep · 43 km away
- 4.4119 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3226 days ago · 106 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.970 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3232 days ago · 103 km deep · 81 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000c12x. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 3:02 AM UTC.