M5.5 earthquake 89 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 89 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Aug 1, 1978, 9:29 AM GMT-11 (20:29 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-08-01 20:29:42 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.285° S, 173.329° 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
- 65
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.386 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17589 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.699 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 17559 days ago · 39 km deep · 92 km away
- 5.482 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17555 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.897 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17550 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.791 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17539 days ago · 47 km deep · 29 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000vw7 (also filed as gcmtb080178a, gcmt19780801202942, iscgem677499). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC.