M4.9 earthquake Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in Tonga on Sun, Aug 2, 1981, 6:15 AM GMT-12 (18:15 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (ms), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-08-02 18:15:03 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.533° S, 173.088° 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
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 0 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001f2y. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 7:00 AM UTC.