Tonga earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake 159 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 159 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, Aug 22, 1979, 9:44 AM GMT-12 (21:44 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 113 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.3 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1979-08-22 21:44:48 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
17.234° S, 173.110° 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
47

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.5113 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17142 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away

Before

  1. 4.9164 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17219 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00012js. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC.