M4.7 earthquake 131 km W of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 131 km W of Pangai, Tonga on Sun, Dec 10, 1978, 11:37 PM GMT+13 (10:37 UTC), 233 km (145 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 141 km NNW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-12-10 10:37:25 UTC
- Depth
- 233.0 km (144.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 19.680° S, 175.603° 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.
- Stations used
- 17
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000xvg. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 12:22 AM UTC.