M5.0 earthquake 141 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 141 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, May 14, 1978, 11:38 AM GMT+13 (22:38 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
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-05-13 22:38:13 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.409° S, 174.212° 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
- 6
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.964 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17658 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.6134 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17655 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.1122 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17648 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 4.7117 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17626 days ago · 60 km deep · 68 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000uhq. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 10:46 PM UTC.