M4.6 earthquake 71 km NE of Kolonga, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 71 km NE of Kolonga, Tonga on Sun, May 31, 1981, 8:40 PM GMT+13 (07:40 UTC), 23 km (14 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 91 km N of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-05-31 07:40:52 UTC
- Depth
- 23.0 km (14.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.633° S, 174.631° 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 1.6 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001dyn. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 7:04 AM UTC.