M4.8 earthquake 55 km SE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 55 km SE of Pangai, Tonga on Sat, Dec 21, 1974, 3:29 AM GMT+13 (14:29 UTC), 117 km (73 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 100 km SE of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1974-12-20 14:29:47 UTC
- Depth
- 117.0 km (72.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 20.152° S, 173.957° 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.
- Depth from
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 13
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 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 usp000096m. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:31 PM UTC.