M5.4 earthquake 102 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 102 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, Oct 12, 1981, 4:31 PM GMT-11 (03:31 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.8 94 km NNE 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
- 5.4 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-10-13 03:31:17 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.284° S, 173.143° 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 2.4 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9126 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16415 days ago · 48 km deep · 40 km away
- 4.872 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16395 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.5137 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16390 days ago · 33 km deep · 44 km away
- 5.894 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16378 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001ge8 (also filed as gcmtb101381a, gcmt19811013033117, iscgem609889). Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 3:35 AM UTC.