Tonga earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 131 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 131 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sat, May 24, 1975, 2:53 PM GMT+13 (01:53 UTC), 19 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.7 85 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Tonga

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.5 (ms), moderate
Local time
UTC
1975-05-24 01:53:38 UTC
Depth
19.0 km (11.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter
20.905° S, 173.767° 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
50

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000b5c (also filed as iscgem729355). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:40 AM UTC.