M4.8 earthquake 31 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 31 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Aug 15, 2020, 12:50 AM GMT+13 (11:50 UTC), 38 km (24 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 79 km NNW 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
- 2020-08-14 11:50:48 UTC
- Depth
- 38.3 km (23.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.682° S, 173.701° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Felt reports
- 1
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 10.8 km horizontally, 6.5 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 77°
- Stations used
- 58
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 19 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.8111 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2239 days ago · 10 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.6111 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2238 days ago · 10 km deep · 81 km away
- 4.885 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2237 days ago · 10 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.771 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2231 days ago · 10 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.686 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2230 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.5108 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2230 days ago · 10 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.679 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2230 days ago · 10 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.570 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2229 days ago · 10 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.7102 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2224 days ago · 10 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.546 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2220 days ago · 59 km deep · 79 km away
- 4.181 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2218 days ago · 10 km deep · 52 km away
- 5.4123 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2215 days ago · 25 km deep · 96 km away · felt by 2
- 4.7109 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2209 days ago · 10 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.0121 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2206 days ago · 35 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.7106 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2206 days ago · 20 km deep · 75 km away
- 4.377 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2203 days ago · 13 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.462 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2201 days ago · 77 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.3108 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2198 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away
- 5.193 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2194 days ago · 10 km deep · 70 km away
Before
- 4.6126 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2241 days ago · 10 km deep · 96 km away · felt by 1
- 4.5Tonga · 2243 days ago · 104 km deep · 39 km away
- 4.4110 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2244 days ago · 10 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.4115 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2245 days ago · 10 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.550 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2252 days ago · 116 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.6111 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2253 days ago · 10 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.6113 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2263 days ago · 10 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.424 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2264 days ago · 115 km deep · 42 km away
- 4.4112 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2264 days ago · 10 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.692 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2264 days ago · 10 km deep · 96 km away
- 4.399 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2266 days ago · 10 km deep · 68 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000bemn. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:55 AM UTC.