M5.0 earthquake 132 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 132 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa on Sat, Dec 27, 1975, 1:10 PM GMT-11 (00:10 UTC), 18 km (11 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 137 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1975-12-28 00:10:33 UTC
- Depth
- 18.0 km (11.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.204° S, 171.922° 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.
- Stations used
- 12
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2137 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18530 days ago · 69 km deep · 85 km away
- 4.5171 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18530 days ago · 33 km deep · 48 km away
- 5.3164 km SSW of Matavai, Samoa · 18527 days ago · 28 km deep · 32 km away
- 5.9148 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18486 days ago · 33 km deep · 38 km away
Before
Earthquakes todaySamoa earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000e48. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:27 PM UTC.