M5.1 earthquake 89 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 89 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Tue, May 4, 1976, 2:51 AM GMT+13 (13:51 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 67 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1976-05-03 13:51:25 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.042° S, 174.142° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.35 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.2 |
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
- 36
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1114 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 18389 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.467 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 18375 days ago · 34 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.8Tonga · 18371 days ago · 33 km deep · 13 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000g4p (also filed as iscgem713415). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 5:02 PM UTC.