M5.2 earthquake 94 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 94 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga on Thu, Mar 19, 1981, 2:21 AM GMT-11 (13:21 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
- 5.2 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-03-19 13:21:37 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.202° S, 172.947° 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 2.2 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.98 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 16626 days ago · 146 km deep · 87 km away
- 5.1104 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16577 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001csg (also filed as gcmtb031981a, gcmt19810319132137, iscgem630111). Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 12:08 AM UTC.