M4.9 earthquake 89 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 89 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Jan 1, 2023, 4:10 AM GMT+13 (15:10 UTC), 30 km (19 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2022-12-31 15:10:40 UTC
- Depth
- 30.5 km (18.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.705° S, 173.491° 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 9.8 km horizontally, 3.2 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.14
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 121°
- Stations used
- 28
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7Tonga · 1371 days ago · 63 km deep · 42 km away
- 5.1Tonga · 1364 days ago · 152 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.559 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1361 days ago · 131 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.3125 km N of Neiafu, Tonga · 1351 days ago · 129 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.8Tonga · 1333 days ago · 82 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.579 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 1327 days ago · 120 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.7114 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1315 days ago · 10 km deep · 95 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000j19e. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 7:12 PM UTC.