M5.5 earthquake 146 km S of Matavai, Samoa
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 146 km S of Matavai, Samoa on Sat, Dec 27, 1975, 12:32 PM GMT-11 (23:32 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 127 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa. 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 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1975-12-27 23:32:59 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.336° S, 171.907° 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
- 81
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.6127 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa · 18531 days ago · 33 km deep · 20 km away
- 5.0132 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa · 18531 days ago · 18 km deep · 15 km away
- 5.2137 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18529 days ago · 69 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.5171 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18529 days ago · 33 km deep · 42 km away
- 5.3164 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa · 18526 days ago · 28 km deep · 20 km away
- 5.5138 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 18501 days ago · 36 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.9148 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18485 days ago · 33 km deep · 40 km away
Before
Earthquakes todaySamoa earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000e46 (also filed as iscgem720943). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:04 AM UTC.