M5.5 earthquake 83 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 83 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Wed, Mar 22, 1972, 9:29 PM GMT+13 (08:29 UTC), 27 km (17 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 67 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1972-03-22 08:29:19 UTC
- Depth
- 27.0 km (16.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.988° S, 174.559° 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
- ±0.31
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem775569. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:37 AM UTC.