Tonga earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 259 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 259 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Dec 24, 1982, 2:05 AM GMT+13 (13:05 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 forecast More in Tonga

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.5 (ms), moderate
Local time: Fri, Dec 24, 1982, 2:05 AM GMT+13
UTC: 1982-12-23 13:05:16 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 23.618° S, 175.503° 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.

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast278 kmS

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 46 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001rp4 (also filed as gcmtb122382d, gcmt19821223130516, iscgem587307). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:05 AM UTC.