Tonga earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 20 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 20 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Dec 22, 2017, 2:56 PM GMT+14 (00:56 UTC), 127 km (79 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.9 73 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2017-12-22 00:56:52 UTC
Depth
127.4 km (79.1 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
16.024° S, 173.970° 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 8.2 km horizontally, 13.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.14
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
98°
Stations used
22

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.443 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3203 days ago · 118 km deep · 42 km away
  2. 4.222 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3197 days ago · 129 km deep · 26 km away
  3. 4.973 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3185 days ago · 147 km deep · 56 km away
  4. 4.541 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3183 days ago · 35 km deep · 59 km away
  5. 4.2119 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 3180 days ago · 279 km deep · 99 km away
  6. 4.3Tonga · 3175 days ago · 117 km deep · 30 km away
  7. 4.479 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3167 days ago · 10 km deep · 94 km away
  8. 4.974 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3149 days ago · 35 km deep · 92 km away
  9. 4.580 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3148 days ago · 35 km deep · 96 km away

Before

  1. 4.648 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3212 days ago · 10 km deep · 52 km away
  2. 4.541 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 3214 days ago · 137 km deep · 23 km away
  3. 5.721 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3219 days ago · 155 km deep · 12 km away · felt by 1
  4. 5.382 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3220 days ago · 10 km deep · 99 km away · felt by 1
  5. 4.560 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 3221 days ago · 52 km deep · 71 km away
  6. 4.595 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3230 days ago · 200 km deep · 97 km away
  7. 4.970 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3232 days ago · 103 km deep · 63 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000c14z. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 5:31 AM UTC.