M5.5 earthquake 147 km N of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 147 km N of Neiafu, Tonga on Tue, Dec 14, 1976, 7:10 PM GMT-12 (07:10 UTC), 79 km (49 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1976-12-15 07:10:27 UTC
- Depth
- 79.0 km (49.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 17.318° S, 173.994° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.65 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.34 |
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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 95
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
None recorded.
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ks2 (also filed as iscgem704739). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 5:57 PM UTC.