M5.3 earthquake 86 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 86 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Aug 3, 1978, 2:17 PM GMT-11 (01:17 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 82 km NE 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
- 5.3 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-08-04 01:17:02 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.669° S, 173.046° 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
- 52
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.699 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 17559 days ago · 39 km deep · 40 km away
- 5.482 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17555 days ago · 33 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.897 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17551 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.791 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17539 days ago · 47 km deep · 26 km away
Before
- 5.589 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17591 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
- 5.890 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17596 days ago · 33 km deep · 9 km away
- 5.488 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17596 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
- 5.0147 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 17603 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.999 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17603 days ago · 33 km deep · 43 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000vxd (also filed as iscgem677604). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 8:12 PM UTC.