M5.5 earthquake 84 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 84 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Oct 7, 1980, 10:43 PM GMT-11 (09:43 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 75 km NNE 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
- 5.5 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1980-10-08 09:43:17 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.219° S, 174.015° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.58 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.39 |
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
- 77
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.075 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16793 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
- 4.679 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 16791 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
Before
- 4.755 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 16799 days ago · 107 km deep · 30 km away
- 5.481 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16816 days ago · 33 km deep · 70 km away
- 5.678 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16816 days ago · 33 km deep · 46 km away
- 5.334 km N of Hihifo, Tonga · 16817 days ago · 68 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.884 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16819 days ago · 33 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.6112 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 16819 days ago · 303 km deep · 99 km away
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001a4p (also filed as iscgem636759). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 3:26 AM UTC.