M5.0 earthquake 111 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 111 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Fri, Dec 19, 1980, 11:23 PM GMT+13 (10:23 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.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-12-19 10:23:57 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.692° S, 173.839° 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
- 17
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.271 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 16718 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
- 4.8125 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16716 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
- 5.191 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16713 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
- 5.566 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16712 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
- 5.1130 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16711 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
- 5.276 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16693 days ago · 41 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.553 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 16692 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 4.847 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16667 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bbq. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 1:22 PM UTC.