M4.2 earthquake 274 km W of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 274 km W of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 3:52 AM GMT-12 (15:52 UTC), 373 km (232 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 239 km W 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
- 2021-02-17 15:52:53 UTC
- Depth
- 373.5 km (232.1 mi), deep
- Epicenter
- 16.183° S, 176.347° 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 12.1 km horizontally, 8.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.11
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 80°
- Stations used
- 36
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2239 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 2041 days ago · 26 km deep · 66 km away
- 5.1235 km S of Mata-Utu, Wallis and Futuna · 2041 days ago · 26 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.3Fiji region · 2009 days ago · 406 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.3261 km SSE of Alo, Wallis and Futuna · 1994 days ago · 398 km deep · 97 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000dkew. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 10:17 PM UTC.