M5.6 earthquake 111 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 111 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Jan 8, 1981, 3:17 PM GMT-11 (02:17 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-01-09 02:17:57 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 14.974° S, 174.019° 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
- 62
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.5176 km WSW of Asau, Samoa · 16694 days ago · 33 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.785 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga · 16680 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
- 5.284 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16670 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
- 5.476 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16650 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bnc (also filed as gcmtb010981a, gcmt19810109021757, iscgem632452). Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 9:25 PM UTC.