M4.6 earthquake 126 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 126 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Dec 16, 2021, 7:34 PM GMT-12 (07:34 UTC), 284 km (177 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 109 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
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 2021-12-17 07:34:57 UTC
- Depth
- 284.4 km (176.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.272° S, 174.936° 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 14.2 km horizontally, 9.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.12
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 127°
- Stations used
- 26
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5180 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1745 days ago · 299 km deep · 54 km away
- 4.9109 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 1734 days ago · 284 km deep · 29 km away
- 4.277 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1725 days ago · 124 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.355 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1717 days ago · 144 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.670 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1704 days ago · 147 km deep · 88 km away
- 4.1158 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1689 days ago · 287 km deep · 88 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000gd1k. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 9:39 AM UTC.