M5.4 earthquake 81 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 81 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Sep 16, 1980, 6:36 PM GMT-11 (05:36 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 84 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-09-17 05:36:42 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.344° S, 173.377° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
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
- Stations used
- 71
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.755 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 16790 days ago · 107 km deep · 56 km away
- 5.584 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 16786 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
- 6.075 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16784 days ago · 33 km deep · 6 km away
- 4.679 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 16782 days ago · 33 km deep · 46 km away
Before
- 5.678 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16807 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
- 5.334 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 16808 days ago · 68 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.884 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16809 days ago · 33 km deep · 25 km away
- 5.077 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 16825 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
- 6.282 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 16830 days ago · 39 km deep · 35 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00019ut (also filed as iscgem638812). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:39 PM UTC.