M4.8 earthquake 129 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 129 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, Feb 16, 1981, 11:14 AM GMT-11 (22:14 UTC), 61 km (38 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 94 km ESE 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
- 1981-02-16 22:14:58 UTC
- Depth
- 61.0 km (37.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.569° S, 172.766° 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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.194 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16648 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
- 5.294 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16629 days ago · 33 km deep · 45 km away
- 4.6202 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16613 days ago · 33 km deep · 75 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001c7u. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 1:42 PM UTC.