M4.9 earthquake 64 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 64 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, May 28, 1978, 8:45 PM GMT+13 (07:45 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 56 km ENE 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
- 1978-05-28 07:45:00 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.587° S, 174.387° 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
- 17
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ut2. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 2:55 PM UTC.