M5.4 earthquake 88 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 88 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Jul 27, 1978, 2:41 AM GMT-11 (13:41 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 90 km ENE 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
- 5.4 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-07-27 13:41:04 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.466° S, 173.138° 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
- 43
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.890 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17594 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
- 5.589 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17589 days ago · 33 km deep · 29 km away
- 5.386 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17587 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
- 4.699 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 17557 days ago · 39 km deep · 65 km away
- 5.482 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17553 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
- 4.897 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17549 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
- 4.791 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17537 days ago · 47 km deep · 3 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000vtr (also filed as iscgem680026). Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC.