M4.2 earthquake 92 km S of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 92 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Dec 25, 2018, 11:12 AM GMT+14 (21:12 UTC), 156 km (97 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 148 km S 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), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-12-24 21:12:30 UTC
- Depth
- 155.8 km (96.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.792° S, 173.838° 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 6.0 km horizontally, 10.6 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.13
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 87°
- Stations used
- 21
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7137 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2834 days ago · 140 km deep · 64 km away
- 5.7148 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 2832 days ago · 120 km deep · 57 km away · felt by 1
- 4.6154 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2830 days ago · 80 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.6129 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2819 days ago · 10 km deep · 92 km away
- 4.3125 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2804 days ago · 183 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.596 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2804 days ago · 72 km deep · 52 km away
- 5.379 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2795 days ago · 35 km deep · 33 km away
- 4.5120 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2786 days ago · 185 km deep · 70 km away · felt by 1
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000j30k. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC.