M4.6 earthquake 129 km S of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 129 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 6:06 AM GMT-12 (18:06 UTC), 90 km (56 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
- 4.6 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2017-12-14 18:06:47 UTC
- Depth
- 90.0 km (55.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 17.110° S, 173.955° 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 5.8 km horizontally, 2.0 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.13
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 135°
- Stations used
- 20
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.648 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3213 days ago · 10 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.4138 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga · 3209 days ago · 10 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.2150 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3207 days ago · 131 km deep · 24 km away
- 4.973 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3185 days ago · 147 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.7160 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3165 days ago · 35 km deep · 57 km away
Before
- 4.3116 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3220 days ago · 110 km deep · 36 km away
- 4.4119 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 3227 days ago · 106 km deep · 25 km away
- 4.970 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 3232 days ago · 103 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.5117 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 3239 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
- 5.3146 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 3243 days ago · 156 km deep · 86 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000c4gu. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 7:07 AM UTC.