Samoa earthquakes

M5.2 earthquake 144 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 144 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa on Fri, Dec 26, 1975, 8:06 AM GMT-11 (19:06 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 146 km S of Matavai, Samoa. 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
5.2 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1975-12-26 19:06:50 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
15.196° S, 172.340° W
Region
Samoa
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
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Stations used
22

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.8103 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 18532 days ago · 39 km deep · 98 km away
  2. 4.2124 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18532 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
  3. 5.0103 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 18532 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
  4. 5.5146 km S of Matavai, Samoa · 18531 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
  5. 5.6127 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa · 18531 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
  6. 5.0132 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa · 18531 days ago · 18 km deep · 45 km away
  7. 4.9117 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 18529 days ago · 35 km deep · 93 km away
  8. 5.2137 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18529 days ago · 69 km deep · 58 km away
  9. 4.5171 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18529 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
  10. 5.3164 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa · 18526 days ago · 28 km deep · 46 km away
  11. 5.0135 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18512 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
  12. 5.5138 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 18501 days ago · 36 km deep · 86 km away
  13. 5.9148 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18485 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away

Before

  1. 6.2130 km SSW of Gataivai, Samoa · 18550 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000e31. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:43 AM UTC.