M4.9 earthquake 126 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 126 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga on Mon, Oct 19, 1981, 7:12 PM GMT-11 (06:12 UTC), 48 km (30 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
- 4.9 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-10-20 06:12:12 UTC
- Depth
- 48.0 km (29.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.378° S, 172.781° 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 1.9 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.872 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16395 days ago · 33 km deep · 59 km away
- 4.5137 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16389 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away
- 5.894 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16378 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001gk2. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 1:49 PM UTC.