M4.7 earthquake Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck in Tonga on Fri, May 14, 1982, 11:23 PM GMT-11 (10:23 UTC), 106 km (66 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 79 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1982-05-15 10:23:50 UTC
- Depth
- 106.0 km (65.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.991° S, 174.009° 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.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.379 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16168 days ago · 65 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.630 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 16142 days ago · 33 km deep · 36 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001mbe. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 12:59 AM UTC.