M5.4 earthquake 91 km N of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 91 km N of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga on Wed, Jun 17, 1981, 10:45 AM GMT+13 (21:45 UTC), 178 km (111 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-06-16 21:45:57 UTC
- Depth
- 178.3 km (110.8 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 20.311° S, 175.257° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 22 stations |
| 5.38 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.4 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.686 km NNW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga · 16502 days ago · 162 km deep · 45 km away
- 4.568 km N of Kolonga, Tonga · 16484 days ago · 33 km deep · 29 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001e6x (also filed as gcmtb061681d, gcmt19810616214557, iscgem625311). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 12:58 PM UTC.