April 2, 1977 Earthquake: Apia, Samoa Islands
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Apia, Samoa Islands on April 2, 1977 at 07:15:22 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- April 2, 1977
- Time
- 07:15:22 UTC
- Place
- Apia, Samoa Islands
- Magnitude
- 7.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 16.696° S, 172.095° W
- Country
- Samoa
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
April 2, 1977. Minor damage (VI) at Apia and Pago Pago. Felt at Suva, Fiji Islands. Local tsunami observed (4 cm peak to peak) at Apia and (15 cm peak to peak) at Pago Pago. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1977The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1977Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4769.