M4.9 earthquake 231 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 231 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Dec 16, 1977, 4:51 AM GMT+13 (15:51 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 279 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
- 4.9 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-12-15 15:51:00 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.401° S, 175.310° 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
- 21
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1279 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17811 days ago · 115 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.8275 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17800 days ago · 50 km deep · 44 km away
Before
- 5.1south of Tonga · 17819 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 5.1263 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17819 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
- 6.1south of Tonga · 17820 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
- 5.2south of Tonga · 17821 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
- 5.9Tonga region · 17823 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
- 4.8south of Tonga · 17823 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
- 6.2south of the Fiji Islands · 17824 days ago · 56 km deep · 95 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000s35. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:44 AM UTC.