M4.8 earthquake 112 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 112 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga on Thu, Aug 15, 1974, 2:19 PM GMT+13 (01:19 UTC), 170 km (106 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 140 km SSW 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1974-08-15 01:19:24 UTC
- Depth
- 170.0 km (105.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.089° S, 175.681° 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.
- Stations used
- 30
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1140 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 19013 days ago · 58 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.9160 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 18985 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00007mk. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 4:19 AM UTC.