M5.9 earthquake 290 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 290 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sat, Mar 18, 1961, 9:10 AM GMT+13 (20:10 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.4 south of Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1961-03-17 20:10:39 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.798° S, 175.915° 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.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.20
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem876265. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 7:41 PM UTC.