M5.9 earthquake 110 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 110 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Mar 18, 1988, 4:36 AM GMT+13 (15:36 UTC), 40 km (25 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Ms, surface-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1988-03-17 15:36:23 UTC
- Depth
- 39.9 km (24.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.415° S, 173.884° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003e1x. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC.