Tonga earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake Tonga

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in Tonga on Tue, Jan 17, 2023, 10:38 PM GMT+13 (09:38 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.0 77 km E of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2023-01-17 09:38:47 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
15.210° S, 173.035° 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 8.6 km horizontally, 1.3 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.07
Depth from
Operator assigned
Station coverage gap
81°
Stations used
75

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.9107 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1351 days ago · 10 km deep · 26 km away
  2. 4.8118 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1347 days ago · 10 km deep · 10 km away
  3. 4.3102 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1345 days ago · 35 km deep · 27 km away
  4. 5.077 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 1340 days ago · 44 km deep · 73 km away
  5. 4.9Samoa Islands region · 1334 days ago · 10 km deep · 29 km away
  6. 4.3Samoa Islands region · 1333 days ago · 10 km deep · 58 km away
  7. 4.5Samoa Islands region · 1330 days ago · 10 km deep · 70 km away
  8. 4.1132 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1305 days ago · 10 km deep · 32 km away
  9. 4.694 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1303 days ago · 10 km deep · 21 km away
  10. 4.2118 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1299 days ago · 10 km deep · 53 km away
  11. 4.6114 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1297 days ago · 10 km deep · 62 km away
  12. 4.7106 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 1297 days ago · 21 km deep · 51 km away
  13. 4.8122 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 1296 days ago · 10 km deep · 77 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000j4v1. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:14 AM UTC.