M5.0 earthquake 82 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 82 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Oct 20, 1978, 10:13 PM GMT-11 (09:13 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 68 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
- 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-10-21 09:13:55 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.224° S, 173.631° 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
- 19
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 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.468 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17489 days ago · 33 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.878 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17471 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.729 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17463 days ago · 135 km deep · 77 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000x31. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 11:43 PM UTC.