M4.8 earthquake 98 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 98 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Sat, Apr 11, 1987, 10:05 PM GMT+13 (09:05 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-04-11 09:05:09 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.553° S, 173.836° 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 1.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.245 km S of Pangai, Tonga · 14408 days ago · 76 km deep · 68 km away
- 5.674 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14376 days ago · 33 km deep · 83 km away
- 4.799 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14373 days ago · 33 km deep · 52 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000342v. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 5:22 AM UTC.