M5.6 earthquake 120 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 120 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Thu, Mar 26, 1987, 7:47 PM GMT+13 (06:47 UTC), 20 km (13 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.1 51 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-03-26 06:47:10 UTC
- Depth
- 20.3 km (12.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.517° S, 173.801° 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 2.6 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.151 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14431 days ago · 81 km deep · 70 km away
- 4.889 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14431 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
- 5.028 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14431 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
- 5.381 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14427 days ago · 32 km deep · 44 km away
- 4.997 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14403 days ago · 40 km deep · 23 km away
- 5.674 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14377 days ago · 33 km deep · 60 km away
- 4.799 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14374 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00033nc (also filed as gcmtb032687b, gcmt19870326064712, iscgem473042). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 1:55 AM UTC.