M5.1 earthquake 184 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 184 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Mar 3, 1978, 7:23 AM GMT+13 (18:23 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 177 km SSW 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
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-02 18:23:06 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.993° S, 175.128° 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 2.1 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.2212 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17741 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
- 5.2213 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17741 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
- 4.8159 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17728 days ago · 95 km deep · 39 km away
- 5.7177 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17727 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
- 4.7148 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17706 days ago · 33 km deep · 40 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000t71. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 5:03 PM UTC.