Tonga earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake 177 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 177 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Thu, Dec 23, 1982, 6:57 PM GMT+13 (05:57 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
5.1 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1982-12-23 05:57:58 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
22.803° S, 175.635° 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 2.1 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 14 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.5259 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15981 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
  2. 5.2250 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15980 days ago · 33 km deep · 91 km away
  3. 5.1260 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15978 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  4. 5.6268 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15976 days ago · 33 km deep · 98 km away
  5. 5.0235 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15973 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
  6. 4.7265 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15958 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away

Before

  1. 5.4264 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15983 days ago · 42 km deep · 97 km away
  2. 5.1258 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15983 days ago · 33 km deep · 87 km away
  3. 6.3265 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15984 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away
  4. 4.8271 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15984 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  5. 4.8222 km SW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15984 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
  6. 5.4257 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15984 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away
  7. 5.2239 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15985 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
  8. 5.7252 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15999 days ago · 50 km deep · 75 km away
  9. 5.4251 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15999 days ago · 70 km deep · 75 km away
  10. 5.0253 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 15999 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
  11. 5.3Tonga region · 16001 days ago · 69 km deep · 93 km away
  12. 4.9228 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16007 days ago · 33 km deep · 51 km away
  13. 4.8269 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16011 days ago · 33 km deep · 92 km away
  14. 4.9234 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16011 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001rnv. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 10:38 AM UTC.