M4.8 earthquake 111 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 111 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Jan 27, 1981, 4:41 PM GMT-11 (03:41 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 76 km NE 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-01-28 03:41:34 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.624° S, 172.810° 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
- 11
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.284 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16669 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.8124 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16660 days ago · 33 km deep · 53 km away
- 5.476 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16649 days ago · 33 km deep · 55 km away
- 5.294 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16628 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001bxa. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 7:19 AM UTC.