Tonga earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake Tonga

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in Tonga on Mon, Nov 19, 1979, 5:42 AM GMT-12 (17:42 UTC), 192 km (119 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.0 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1979-11-19 17:42:55 UTC
Depth
192.0 km (119.3 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
16.880° S, 174.601° 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
42

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.2109 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 17106 days ago · 123 km deep · 70 km away
  2. 4.7142 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17093 days ago · 224 km deep · 14 km away
  3. 4.3119 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17058 days ago · 158 km deep · 37 km away

Before

  1. 4.7131 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 17114 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
  2. 5.2115 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17115 days ago · 91 km deep · 42 km away
  3. 5.0129 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 17131 days ago · 263 km deep · 32 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000143d. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 11:46 PM UTC.