M5.3 earthquake 98 km NE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 98 km NE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Jan 5, 1979, 6:31 PM GMT+13 (05:31 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 109 km ENE 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
- 5.3 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-01-05 05:31:27 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.826° S, 174.168° 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
- 26
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.4109 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17397 days ago · 33 km deep · 36 km away
- 5.166 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17383 days ago · 58 km deep · 53 km away
- 4.8139 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 17383 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
- 4.984 km SW of Pangai, Tonga · 17370 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000y9u. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:57 PM UTC.