M5.2 earthquake 200 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 200 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Feb 20, 1981, 1:37 PM GMT+13 (00:37 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 229 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-02-20 00:37:09 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.136° S, 175.098° 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 2.2 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.5229 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16637 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
- 5.4225 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16637 days ago · 33 km deep · 37 km away
- 5.1269 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16637 days ago · 33 km deep · 71 km away
- 4.6210 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16637 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
- 4.5224 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16632 days ago · 33 km deep · 24 km away
- 5.5234 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16607 days ago · 35 km deep · 41 km away
- 5.2236 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16604 days ago · 40 km deep · 37 km away
- 4.6142 km SSE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 16601 days ago · 33 km deep · 97 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001c9u. Read Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 3:43 PM UTC.