Tonga earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake 264 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 264 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Wed, Dec 22, 1982, 7:00 AM GMT+13 (18:00 UTC), 42 km (26 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 259 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: Wed, Dec 22, 1982, 7:00 AM GMT+13
UTC: 1982-12-21 18:00:28 UTC
Depth: 42.0 km (26.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 23.668° S, 175.493° 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: CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast283 kmS

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 18 in the 60 days after this one and 40 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001rmn (also filed as iscgem587203). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:56 AM UTC.