M5.3 earthquake 81 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 81 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Tue, Mar 31, 1987, 9:27 AM GMT+13 (20:27 UTC), 32 km (20 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
- 5.3 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-03-30 20:27:26 UTC
- Depth
- 32.2 km (20.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.309° S, 174.165° 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 2.3 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.898 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 14417 days ago · 33 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.997 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14405 days ago · 40 km deep · 26 km away
- 5.674 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14379 days ago · 33 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.799 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14376 days ago · 33 km deep · 39 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00033sg (also filed as gcmtb033087b, gcmt19870330202727, iscgem473413). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 1:52 PM UTC.