M4.6 earthquake 154 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 154 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Dec 28, 2018, 7:16 PM GMT-12 (07:16 UTC), 80 km (49 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 113 km NNW of Neiafu, 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), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-12-29 07:16:35 UTC
- Depth
- 79.6 km (49.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 17.232° S, 174.380° 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 7.4 km horizontally, 6.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.11
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 74°
- Stations used
- 36
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.0161 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2827 days ago · 219 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.6148 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2820 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away
- 5.2113 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2820 days ago · 10 km deep · 50 km away
- 4.990 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2819 days ago · 10 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.6129 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2819 days ago · 10 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.3125 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2805 days ago · 183 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.5120 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2786 days ago · 185 km deep · 48 km away · felt by 1
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000j51y. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 3:25 AM UTC.