Tonga earthquakes

M5.7 earthquake 252 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 252 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Mon, Dec 6, 1982, 4:52 AM GMT+13 (15:52 UTC), 50 km (31 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M7.2 south of Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecast More in Tonga

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.7 (ms), moderate
Local time: Mon, Dec 6, 1982, 4:52 AM GMT+13
UTC: 1982-12-05 15:52:24 UTC
Depth: 50.0 km (31.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 23.410° S, 175.952° 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. Forecast264 kmSSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 41 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001r9m (also filed as gcmtb120582b, gcmt19821205155222, iscgem586406). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 2:09 AM UTC.