Reviewed by USGSTonga50y ago
M5.3 earthquake 175 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga
Saturday, April 30, 1977, 00:00:14 UTC · 17.339°S, 173.001°W
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 175 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga on Saturday, April 30, 1977, 00:00:14 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on April 2, 1977.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
65 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 354 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11919 Tonga EarthquakeApril 30, 1919 · 124 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.0The 1917 Samoa-Tonga EarthquakeJune 26, 1917 · 262 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaDecember 26, 1975 · 132 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6199 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaApril 2, 1977 · 120 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4103 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaFebruary 27, 1921 · 174 km S of this epicenter
- 7.385 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaJanuary 2, 1907 · 195 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2108 km SE of Neiafu, TongaDecember 19, 1906 · 211 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1112 km NNE of Hihifo, TongaApril 14, 1957 · 261 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1917M8.3
Samoa Islands
26 Jun 1917 · 204 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 124 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 246 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1977M7.6
Apia
2 Apr 1977 · 120 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1975M7.8
Samoa Islands
26 Dec 1975 · 132 km away · intensity V
tsunami
- 1957M7.5
Samoa Islands
14 Apr 1957 · 204 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.