M5.0 earthquake 135 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 135 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Jan 15, 1976, 8:10 PM GMT-11 (07:10 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.9 148 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1976-01-16 07:10:56 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 14.981° S, 173.034° 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.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Stations used
- 15
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.9148 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18497 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
- 5.286 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18479 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
Before
- 5.786 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18525 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 4.5171 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18540 days ago · 33 km deep · 99 km away
- 5.2137 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18540 days ago · 69 km deep · 94 km away
- 4.2124 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18543 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
- 5.2144 km SSW of Lotofag?, Samoa · 18544 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.9102 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18553 days ago · 40 km deep · 62 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000eg5. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 9:31 AM UTC.