M4.7 earthquake Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck in Tonga on Sat, Mar 12, 1977, 4:34 PM GMT-11 (03:34 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 134 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1977-03-13 03:34:29 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.521° S, 173.270° 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
- 15
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1134 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18070 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.3150 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18059 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.1152 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18050 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.7126 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18049 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.9128 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18047 days ago · 33 km deep · 74 km away
- 5.3175 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18043 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
- 5.0117 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 18043 days ago · 42 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.4133 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 18035 days ago · 62 km deep · 68 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000mwa. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 6:53 PM UTC.