M5.0 earthquake 143 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 143 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Tue, Dec 21, 1976, 6:55 PM GMT+13 (05:55 UTC), 127 km (79 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 62 km SSW 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
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1976-12-21 05:55:38 UTC
- Depth
- 127.0 km (78.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.256° S, 175.971° 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
- 14
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000kvq. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 10:47 PM UTC.