M4.8 earthquake Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in Tonga on Sun, Mar 12, 1978, 3:41 AM GMT+13 (14:41 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 97 km SSE 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-11 14:41:29 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.402° S, 174.809° 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
- 7
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.197 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17713 days ago · 45 km deep · 85 km away
- 5.2113 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17712 days ago · 33 km deep · 99 km away
- 5.067 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17710 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
- 5.7108 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17709 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
- 5.280 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17694 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
- 5.859 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17684 days ago · 33 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.975 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17683 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
- 5.488 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17668 days ago · 33 km deep · 74 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000tbm. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:15 AM UTC.