M5.2 earthquake 213 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 213 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Mar 3, 1978, 8:42 PM GMT+13 (07:42 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
- 5.2 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-03 07:42:08 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.263° S, 174.984° 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
- 31
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.8159 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17729 days ago · 95 km deep · 72 km away
- 5.7177 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17728 days ago · 33 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.7148 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17707 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000t78. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 4:52 PM UTC.