M5.7 earthquake 177 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 177 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sat, Mar 18, 1978, 12:00 AM GMT+13 (11:00 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-17 11:00:39 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.889° S, 175.358° 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
- 104
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
- 4.8159 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17727 days ago · 95 km deep · 19 km away
- 5.2213 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17740 days ago · 33 km deep · 57 km away
- 5.2212 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17740 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
- 5.1184 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17741 days ago · 33 km deep · 26 km away
- 5.6197 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga · 17749 days ago · 85 km deep · 90 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ter (also filed as gcmtb031778a, gcmt19780317110039, iscgem685094). Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 4:44 PM UTC.