M4.9 earthquake 75 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 75 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Wed, Apr 26, 1978, 2:50 AM GMT+13 (13:50 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 88 km SE 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
- 4.9 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-04-25 13:50:52 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.302° S, 174.222° 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
- 13
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.488 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17675 days ago · 33 km deep · 81 km away
- 5.070 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17657 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.964 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17657 days ago · 33 km deep · 36 km away
Before
- 5.859 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17691 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
- 5.280 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17701 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
- 5.2120 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17714 days ago · 33 km deep · 81 km away
- 5.7108 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17716 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
- 5.067 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17717 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
- 5.2113 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17719 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000u90. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 3:16 AM UTC.