M5.0 earthquake 28 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 28 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Mar 27, 1987, 10:15 PM GMT+13 (09:15 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 74 km ENE 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
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-03-27 09:15:28 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.238° S, 174.693° 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.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.381 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14428 days ago · 32 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.997 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14404 days ago · 40 km deep · 75 km away
- 5.674 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14378 days ago · 33 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.799 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14375 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00033p7. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 1:45 AM UTC.