Tonga earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 136 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 136 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Sep 1, 1981, 3:10 PM GMT-11 (02:10 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.5 102 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.8 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1981-09-02 02:10:25 UTC
Depth
33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
15.556° S, 172.595° 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 1.8 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.8127 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 69 km away
  2. 5.5102 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 42 km away
  3. 4.7116 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16460 days ago · 33 km deep · 47 km away
  4. 4.8110 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16445 days ago · 33 km deep · 68 km away
  5. 4.8107 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 16425 days ago · 33 km deep · 61 km away
  6. 5.4102 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16420 days ago · 33 km deep · 66 km away
  7. 4.9126 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16413 days ago · 48 km deep · 28 km away

Before

  1. 4.4126 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
  2. 4.9115 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
  3. 5.6104 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 73 km away
  4. 5.788 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
  5. 4.6101 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 91 km away
  6. 5.1111 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16461 days ago · 33 km deep · 63 km away
  7. 4.8112 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16462 days ago · 33 km deep · 95 km away
  8. 4.5126 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16462 days ago · 33 km deep · 19 km away
  9. 5.6105 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16462 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
  10. 7.7133 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16462 days ago · 25 km deep · 85 km away
  11. 5.8105 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16462 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001fmg. Read Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 12:39 AM UTC.