Tonga earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake 63 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 63 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, Aug 12, 1981, 3:57 PM GMT-11 (02:57 UTC), 191 km (119 mi) below the surface.

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.4 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1981-08-13 02:57:04 UTC
Depth
191.0 km (118.7 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
16.094° S, 174.370° 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 2.4 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.7115 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 16468 days ago · 287 km deep · 57 km away
  2. 4.737 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16440 days ago · 123 km deep · 98 km away
  3. 4.467 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 16438 days ago · 116 km deep · 66 km away

Before

  1. 4.4100 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 16506 days ago · 111 km deep · 67 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001f8k (also filed as gcmtb081381a, gcmt19810813025704, iscgem612967). Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 10:45 AM UTC.