M5.7 earthquake 119 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 119 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Tue, Apr 1, 1980, 7:42 AM GMT+13 (18:42 UTC), 34 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.1 125 km SE of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Ms, surface-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-03-31 18:42:37 UTC
- Depth
- 34.0 km (21.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.730° S, 173.740° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.6 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
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
- 95
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.1125 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16985 days ago · 37 km deep · 17 km away
- 5.231 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16985 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
- 5.087 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16984 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
- 5.070 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 16980 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
- 5.1129 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16964 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
- 5.550 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 16957 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
- 5.292 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 16927 days ago · 36 km deep · 85 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00016cp (also filed as gcmtb033180d, gcmt19800331184237, iscgem650556). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 1:25 AM UTC.