Tonga earthquakes

M5.3 earthquake Tonga region

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in the Tonga region on Wed, Dec 15, 1982, 7:36 AM GMT+13 (18:36 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M7.2 south of Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecast More in Tonga

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.3 (mb), moderate
Local time: Wed, Dec 15, 1982, 7:36 AM GMT+13
UTC: 1982-12-14 18:36:19 UTC
Depth: 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 23.964° S, 175.906° 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. Forecast323 kmSSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.3 and up: 64 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 64.

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001rfb (also filed as gcmtb121482d, gcmt19821214183619, iscgem586852). Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 6:33 PM UTC.