M4.3 earthquake 135 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 135 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, Dec 14, 2020, 9:03 PM GMT-12 (09:03 UTC), 84 km (52 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 148 km SSW 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
- 4.3 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-12-15 09:03:39 UTC
- Depth
- 84.5 km (52.5 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 17.107° S, 174.231° 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 5.2 km horizontally, 7.7 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.12
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 100°
- Stations used
- 27
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.3139 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 2108 days ago · 549 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.6120 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2088 days ago · 148 km deep · 23 km away
- 4.8143 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2073 days ago · 92 km deep · 18 km away
- 4.581 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2071 days ago · 74 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.9148 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 2061 days ago · 157 km deep · 16 km away
Before
- 5.9152 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2119 days ago · 10 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.6125 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2129 days ago · 10 km deep · 73 km away
- 5.0142 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2130 days ago · 10 km deep · 64 km away
- 5.6136 km NW of Neiafu, Tonga · 2130 days ago · 10 km deep · 86 km away
- 4.693 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2133 days ago · 19 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.695 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2134 days ago · 10 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.7100 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2139 days ago · 83 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.996 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 2140 days ago · 84 km deep · 74 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000cs63. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 6:30 AM UTC.