Tonga earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake 109 km W of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 109 km W of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Dec 31, 2021, 4:56 AM GMT-12 (16:56 UTC), 284 km (177 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.9 25 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.9 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
2021-12-31 16:56:14 UTC
Depth
284.3 km (176.6 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
16.043° S, 174.813° 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 9.6 km horizontally, 6.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.03
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
38°
Stations used
80

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.277 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1725 days ago · 124 km deep · 77 km away
  2. 4.355 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1717 days ago · 144 km deep · 74 km away
  3. 4.670 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1704 days ago · 147 km deep · 87 km away
  4. 4.1158 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1689 days ago · 287 km deep · 72 km away
  5. 5.925 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1681 days ago · 163 km deep · 90 km away · felt by 2
  6. 4.475 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 1677 days ago · 284 km deep · 35 km away

Before

  1. 4.5180 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1745 days ago · 299 km deep · 74 km away
  2. 4.6126 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1748 days ago · 284 km deep · 29 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000g870 (also filed as iscgem621883806). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 7:53 AM UTC.