M5.0 earthquake 166 km W of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 166 km W of Pangai, Tonga on Sun, May 8, 1977, 5:37 PM GMT+13 (04:37 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 148 km WNW of Pangai, 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
- 1977-05-08 04:37:31 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.647° S, 175.934° 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
- 32
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 3 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 usp0000nt0 (also filed as iscgem698249). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:22 PM UTC.