M4.9 earthquake 113 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 113 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga on Sat, Oct 24, 1981, 7:25 PM GMT-11 (06:25 UTC), 40 km (25 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 140 km NNE of Neiafu, 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
- 1981-10-25 06:25:27 UTC
- Depth
- 40.0 km (24.9 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.948° S, 173.544° 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: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.7123 km SE of Hihifo, Tonga · 16369 days ago · 33 km deep · 80 km away
- 5.2140 km NNE of Neiafu, Tonga · 16357 days ago · 33 km deep · 62 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001gnx. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 5:05 AM UTC.