Tonga earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Mon, Dec 20, 1982, 10:53 AM GMT+13 (21:53 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 south of 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.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
5.0 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1982-12-19 21:53:42 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
23.749° S, 175.881° 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

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 46 in the 60 days after this one and 23 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.5south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 62 km deep · 70 km away
  2. 5.2south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 69 km away
  3. 6.0south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 53 km away
  4. 6.3284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 32 km deep · 10 km away
  5. 5.1275 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
  6. 5.9south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 32 km deep · 84 km away
  7. 5.4south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
  8. 4.8south of the Fiji Islands · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 91 km away
  9. 4.9295 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 23 km away
  10. 5.4257 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
  11. 4.8222 km SW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
  12. 5.1south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  13. 5.5south of the Fiji Islands · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
  14. 4.8271 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
  15. 4.9south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
  16. 5.2291 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 19 km away
  17. 6.3265 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 23 km away
  18. 5.8278 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away
  19. 5.5249 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
  20. 5.2south of Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
  21. 5.1258 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
  22. 5.0south of Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away
  23. 5.4264 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 42 km deep · 41 km away
  24. 5.2268 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
  25. 4.7284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15980 days ago · 33 km deep · 40 km away
  26. 5.6south of the Fiji Islands · 15979 days ago · 48 km deep · 84 km away
  27. 5.4Tonga region · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
  28. 5.3268 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
  29. 5.1south of the Fiji Islands · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 47 km away
  30. 5.2296 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 42 km away
  31. 5.5259 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 41 km away
  32. 4.8south of Tonga · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 54 km away
  33. 5.1south of the Fiji Islands · 15978 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
  34. 5.2250 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15978 days ago · 33 km deep · 61 km away
  35. 5.2south of Tonga · 15978 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
  36. 4.8south of the Fiji Islands · 15978 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
  37. 5.1298 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15976 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
  38. 5.1260 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15976 days ago · 33 km deep · 44 km away
  39. 5.6268 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15974 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
  40. 5.0235 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15971 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
  41. 5.3south of Tonga · 15959 days ago · 37 km deep · 91 km away
  42. 5.4south of Tonga · 15958 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  43. 4.7265 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15956 days ago · 33 km deep · 19 km away
  44. 5.1299 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15950 days ago · 60 km deep · 20 km away
  45. 5.2south of Tonga · 15944 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
  46. 5.1south of Tonga · 15926 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away

Before

  1. 5.2Tonga region · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 41 km away
  2. 5.5288 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 41 km away
  3. 5.4283 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15983 days ago · 39 km deep · 28 km away
  4. 4.9south of Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 61 km away
  5. 5.2239 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
  6. 5.4south of Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
  7. 5.4south of Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 75 km away
  8. 5.6286 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
  9. 5.5south of the Fiji Islands · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
  10. 7.2south of Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 43 km away
  11. 4.8south of Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 100 km away
  12. 5.7south of Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 48 km away
  13. 5.3Tonga region · 15988 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
  14. 5.5south of Tonga · 15988 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
  15. 5.8south of Tonga · 15988 days ago · 33 km deep · 44 km away
  16. 5.7252 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15997 days ago · 50 km deep · 38 km away
  17. 5.4251 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15997 days ago · 70 km deep · 33 km away
  18. 5.0253 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15997 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
  19. 5.3Tonga region · 15999 days ago · 69 km deep · 18 km away
  20. 4.9228 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16005 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away

Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001rjn. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:29 AM UTC.