M4.9 earthquake 206 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 206 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Wed, Nov 14, 1979, 2:21 PM GMT+13 (01:21 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 273 km S 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
- 4.9 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-11-14 01:21:48 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.194° S, 174.885° 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
- 25
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 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.4273 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17116 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
- 5.0194 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 17105 days ago · 47 km deep · 20 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000140b. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 8:21 PM UTC.