Tonga earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 125 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 125 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Mon, Dec 22, 1980, 7:09 PM GMT+13 (06:09 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 66 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Tonga

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.8 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1980-12-22 06:09:15 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
20.851° S, 173.862° 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
22

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.191 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16714 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
  2. 5.566 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16713 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
  3. 5.1130 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16711 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away
  4. 5.276 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16694 days ago · 41 km deep · 52 km away
  5. 4.553 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16693 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
  6. 4.847 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16667 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away

Before

  1. 5.271 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 16719 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
  2. 5.0111 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16720 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
  3. 6.161 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16720 days ago · 33 km deep · 75 km away
  4. 5.2189 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16730 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bd9. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 3:29 AM UTC.