M5.3 earthquake 146 km WNW of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 146 km WNW of Pangai, Tonga on Sat, Apr 28, 1979, 4:03 PM GMT+13 (03:03 UTC), 243 km (151 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 180 km WNW of Pangai, 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
- 1979-04-28 03:03:23 UTC
- Depth
- 243.0 km (151.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 19.345° S, 175.656° 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
- 141
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 1 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 usp00010ay (also filed as gcmtb042879c, gcmt19790428030323, iscgem667289). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 2:13 AM UTC.