Tonga earthquakes

M5.9 earthquake 134 km WNW of Pangai, Tonga

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 134 km WNW of Pangai, Tonga on Fri, Apr 15, 1983, 1:09 PM GMT+13 (00:09 UTC), 227 km (141 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.5 168 km NW of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.9 (mw), moderate
Local time
UTC
1983-04-15 00:09:33 UTC
Depth
226.7 km (140.9 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
19.221° S, 175.469° 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.

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001ufk (also filed as gcmtb041583a, gcmt19830415000936, iscgem578853). Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 4:14 PM UTC.