Tonga earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake 251 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 251 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Mon, Dec 6, 1982, 4:00 AM GMT+13 (15:00 UTC), 70 km (44 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.7 252 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecast More in Tonga

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.4 (mb), moderate
Local time: Mon, Dec 6, 1982, 4:00 AM GMT+13
UTC: 1982-12-05 15:00:41 UTC
Depth: 70.1 km (43.6 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 23.460° S, 175.794° 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: FROM_LOCATION

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast265 kmSSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 44 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001r9j (also filed as gcmtb120582d, gcmt19821205150041, iscgem586404). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:07 AM UTC.