M4.5 earthquake 126 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 126 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, May 19, 1981, 11:15 PM GMT-12 (11:15 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 126 km S 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
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-05-20 11:15:33 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.068° S, 173.537° 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
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.4126 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 16558 days ago · 137 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.5109 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16552 days ago · 33 km deep · 60 km away
- 5.1131 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16541 days ago · 47 km deep · 97 km away
- 5.086 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16521 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001ds9. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 3:23 PM UTC.