M5.2 earthquake 117 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 117 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Thu, Feb 9, 1978, 5:24 PM GMT+13 (04:24 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.3 62 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-02-09 04:24:30 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.384° S, 175.106° 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
- 9
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1184 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17743 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
- 5.2212 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17742 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
- 5.2213 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17742 days ago · 33 km deep · 99 km away
- 6.362 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17741 days ago · 33 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.8159 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17729 days ago · 95 km deep · 46 km away
- 5.7177 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17728 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
- 5.197 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17719 days ago · 45 km deep · 74 km away
- 5.2113 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17719 days ago · 33 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.7148 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17707 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000svx. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 2:22 PM UTC.