M4.8 earthquake 121 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 121 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Sep 28, 2018, 3:50 AM GMT-12 (15:50 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 86 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
- 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-09-28 15:50:36 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.983° S, 174.187° 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 13.6 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.15
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 135°
- Stations used
- 19
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5128 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2925 days ago · 61 km deep · 69 km away
- 5.486 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2899 days ago · 200 km deep · 50 km away
- 4.7104 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 2895 days ago · 104 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.661 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2894 days ago · 60 km deep · 65 km away
Before
- 4.3147 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2927 days ago · 146 km deep · 42 km away
- 4.578 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 2930 days ago · 108 km deep · 58 km away
- 4.6104 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2931 days ago · 10 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.0179 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2933 days ago · 267 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.591 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 2947 days ago · 95 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.4194 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2954 days ago · 245 km deep · 99 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us1000h73u. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:10 AM UTC.