M5.5 earthquake 154 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 154 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga on Thu, May 19, 1988, 4:22 PM GMT+13 (03:22 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 97 km SE of Pangai, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1988-05-19 03:22:32 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.593° S, 173.124° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 16 stations |
| 5.62 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.27 |
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 2.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.797 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 14015 days ago · 47 km deep · 59 km away
- 5.183 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 13999 days ago · 38 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.567 km ESE of Pangai, Tonga · 13982 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003g3a (also filed as iscgem438205). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC.