Tonga earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake 66 km E of Pangai, Tonga

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 66 km E of Pangai, Tonga on Wed, Mar 19, 1980, 7:05 AM GMT+13 (18:05 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.2 100 km SE of Pangai, 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
4.9 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
1980-03-18 18:05:36 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
19.894° S, 173.723° 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
10

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 6.2100 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16986 days ago · 33 km deep · 75 km away
  2. 5.2100 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16986 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
  3. 5.7119 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16986 days ago · 34 km deep · 93 km away
  4. 6.1125 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16985 days ago · 37 km deep · 89 km away
  5. 5.231 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16985 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
  6. 5.087 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16985 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
  7. 5.070 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 16980 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
  8. 5.1129 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16964 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
  9. 5.550 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16958 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
  10. 5.161 km NE of Pangai, Tonga · 16958 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
  11. 5.571 km ENE of Pangai, Tonga · 16956 days ago · 22 km deep · 46 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000162s. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 9:03 AM UTC.