M4.9 earthquake 141 km W of Neiafu, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 141 km W of Neiafu, Tonga on Fri, Mar 30, 1979, 10:05 PM GMT+13 (09:05 UTC), 178 km (111 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 77 km WNW of Neiafu, 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, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-03-30 09:05:51 UTC
- Depth
- 178.0 km (110.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 18.452° S, 175.312° 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
- 18
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 2 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 usp0000zrr. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 11:54 PM UTC.