M5.3 earthquake 49 km SE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 49 km SE of Pangai, Tonga on Sun, Aug 19, 1979, 1:44 AM GMT+13 (12:44 UTC), 76 km (47 mi) below the surface.
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
- 1979-08-18 12:44:35 UTC
- Depth
- 76.0 km (47.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 20.141° S, 174.028° 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
- 57
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.922 km NE of Pangai, Tonga · 17179 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 4.968 km S of Pangai, Tonga · 17156 days ago · 33 km deep · 53 km away
- 5.0130 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 17148 days ago · 33 km deep · 81 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00012gp (also filed as iscgem660561). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:25 PM UTC.