Tonga earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 249 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 249 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Tue, Dec 21, 1982, 1:51 PM GMT+13 (00:51 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.6 268 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, 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.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.5 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1982-12-21 00:51:30 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
23.589° S, 175.048° 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 2.5 and up: 17 in the 60 days after this one and 26 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.1258 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 57 km away
  2. 5.4264 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15980 days ago · 42 km deep · 46 km away
  3. 5.2268 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15980 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
  4. 4.7284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15980 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
  5. 5.4Tonga region · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
  6. 5.3268 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
  7. 5.2296 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 64 km away
  8. 5.5259 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15979 days ago · 33 km deep · 46 km away
  9. 4.8south of Tonga · 15978 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
  10. 5.2250 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15978 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
  11. 5.1298 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15976 days ago · 33 km deep · 50 km away
  12. 5.1260 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15976 days ago · 33 km deep · 44 km away
  13. 5.6268 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15974 days ago · 33 km deep · 56 km away
  14. 5.3south of Tonga · 15972 days ago · 33 km deep · 65 km away
  15. 5.0235 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15971 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
  16. 4.7265 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15956 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
  17. 5.1299 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15950 days ago · 60 km deep · 86 km away

Before

  1. 5.8278 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
  2. 6.3265 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 91 km away
  3. 5.2291 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
  4. 4.8271 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
  5. 5.1south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
  6. 5.4257 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
  7. 4.9295 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
  8. 5.1275 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 50 km away
  9. 6.3284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 32 km deep · 96 km away
  10. 6.0south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
  11. 5.0284 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
  12. 5.2Tonga region · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
  13. 5.5288 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 57 km away
  14. 5.4283 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 39 km deep · 63 km away
  15. 5.4south of Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 84 km away
  16. 5.6286 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15982 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
  17. 5.3Tonga region · 15987 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
  18. 5.5south of Tonga · 15988 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
  19. 5.8south of Tonga · 15988 days ago · 33 km deep · 79 km away
  20. 5.7252 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15997 days ago · 50 km deep · 94 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001rkx. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:12 AM UTC.