M5.1 earthquake 130 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 130 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Dec 28, 1980, 2:05 PM GMT+13 (01:05 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 76 km ENE 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
- 5.1 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-12-28 01:05:28 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.903° S, 173.779° 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
- 38
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.276 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16698 days ago · 41 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.553 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16697 days ago · 33 km deep · 81 km away
- 4.847 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16672 days ago · 33 km deep · 86 km away
Before
- 5.566 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16717 days ago · 33 km deep · 64 km away
- 5.191 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16718 days ago · 33 km deep · 65 km away
- 4.8125 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16722 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away
- 5.271 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 16723 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
- 5.0111 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16724 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
- 6.161 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16725 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
- 5.2189 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16735 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bgg. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 5:40 PM UTC.