M4.6 earthquake 95 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 95 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Dec 19, 2021, 5:09 PM GMT+13 (04:09 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 124 km SSE 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
- 2021-12-19 04:09:24 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.590° S, 173.187° 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 8.1 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.14
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 70°
- Stations used
- 17
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.6124 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1740 days ago · 43 km deep · 60 km away · felt by 5
- 4.789 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1727 days ago · 10 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.493 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1725 days ago · 112 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.5149 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1721 days ago · 10 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.68 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1718 days ago · 77 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.7122 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 1701 days ago · 87 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.9102 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 1698 days ago · 10 km deep · 61 km away · felt by 1
- 4.698 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 1697 days ago · 22 km deep · 89 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000gel6. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 6:58 AM UTC.