M5.1 earthquake 75 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 75 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Wed, Jul 15, 1987, 1:44 PM GMT+13 (00:44 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 46 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
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-07-15 00:44:53 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.857° S, 174.479° 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 2.1 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1119 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14299 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
- 5.1102 km SE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14299 days ago · 33 km deep · 28 km away
- 5.346 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14280 days ago · 114 km deep · 63 km away
- 4.694 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14264 days ago · 116 km deep · 98 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00036np. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 2:35 AM UTC.