M5.3 earthquake 66 km N of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 66 km N of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Nov 22, 1979, 1:30 PM GMT-11 (00:30 UTC), 83 km (52 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 89 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-11-23 00:30:45 UTC
- Depth
- 83.0 km (51.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.353° S, 173.866° 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
- 44
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.270 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17090 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
- 5.489 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17071 days ago · 33 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.993 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 17060 days ago · 33 km deep · 43 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001451 (also filed as iscgemsup656033). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:59 PM UTC.