M6.5 earthquake 79 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 79 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Jun 17, 1980, 11:49 PM GMT-11 (10:49 UTC), 43 km (27 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms, surface-wave), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-06-18 10:49:10 UTC
- Depth
- 43.0 km (26.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.268° S, 173.570° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.35 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.4 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
- Stations used
- 156
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6106 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16906 days ago · 33 km deep · 28 km away
- 5.788 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16893 days ago · 33 km deep · 11 km away
- 4.744 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 16884 days ago · 130 km deep · 97 km away
- 5.482 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16882 days ago · 33 km deep · 6 km away
- 4.7126 km SSW of Gataivai, Samoa · 16871 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away
- 4.9102 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16847 days ago · 61 km deep · 37 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00018a9 (also filed as gcmtc061880c, gcmt19800618104910, iscgem643815). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 9:05 PM UTC.