M4.8 earthquake 126 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 126 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Thu, May 12, 1977, 1:11 PM GMT+13 (00:11 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.8 Tonga region. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-05-12 00:11:56 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.296° S, 175.613° 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
- 11
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.8Tonga region · 17989 days ago · 65 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.6140 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga · 17989 days ago · 128 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.5190 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga · 17988 days ago · 138 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.8200 km SW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17988 days ago · 98 km deep · 74 km away
- 5.5200 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17988 days ago · 33 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.7146 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17986 days ago · 33 km deep · 19 km away
- 5.4160 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17986 days ago · 51 km deep · 48 km away
- 5.0137 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga · 17985 days ago · 33 km deep · 23 km away
- 4.9142 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17982 days ago · 33 km deep · 40 km away
- 4.7197 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17982 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
- 5.5125 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17972 days ago · 33 km deep · 56 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000nuk. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:33 PM UTC.