M5.0 earthquake 194 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 194 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sat, Dec 1, 1979, 11:47 AM GMT+13 (22:47 UTC), 47 km (29 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 118 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
- 5.0 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-11-30 22:47:06 UTC
- Depth
- 47.0 km (29.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.087° S, 175.040° 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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 30
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000149r. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 9:19 AM UTC.