M5.0 earthquake 70 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 70 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, May 28, 1978, 6:16 AM GMT+13 (17:16 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
- 1978-05-27 17:16:55 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.491° S, 174.293° 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
- 32
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.964 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17651 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away
- 5.056 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17593 days ago · 33 km deep · 35 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ust. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 12:38 PM UTC.