M5.1 earthquake 94 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 94 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Feb 28, 1981, 1:40 PM GMT-11 (00:40 UTC), 33 km (21 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
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-03-01 00:40:56 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.580° S, 173.191° 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
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.294 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16627 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.98 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 16626 days ago · 146 km deep · 90 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001cfm. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 10:17 AM UTC.