M5.2 earthquake 113 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 113 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Mon, Mar 27, 1978, 10:24 AM GMT+13 (21:24 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 59 km E 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 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-26 21:24:42 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.133° S, 174.263° 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
- 16
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.067 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17714 days ago · 33 km deep · 63 km away
- 5.7108 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17714 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
- 5.2120 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17712 days ago · 33 km deep · 28 km away
- 5.859 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17688 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.975 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17687 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
- 5.488 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17673 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
- 5.0141 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17669 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ts3. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 2:12 PM UTC.