Tonga earthquakes

M6.2 earthquake 82 km N of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 82 km N of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Aug 24, 1980, 9:10 AM GMT-11 (20:10 UTC), 39 km (24 mi) below the surface.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.2 (Ms, surface-wave), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sun, Aug 24, 1980, 9:10 AM GMT-11
UTC: 1980-08-24 20:10:04 UTC
Depth: 39.0 km (24.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 15.222° S, 173.674° 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
6.2	Ms, surface-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
6.22	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.2	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: 117

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Apia, SamoaPopulation 40,407. Forecast257 kmSW

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.2 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

4.9102 km NE of Hihifo, TongaSat, Aug 16, 11:09 PM GMT-11 · 16846 days ago · 61 km deep · 47 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00019ht (also filed as gcmtc082480a, gcmt19800824201004, iscgem640548). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 12:32 PM UTC.