M4.8 earthquake 241 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 241 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga on Mon, Feb 23, 1981, 10:32 PM GMT+13 (09:32 UTC), 135 km (84 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-02-23 09:32:08 UTC
- Depth
- 134.6 km (83.6 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 23.054° S, 176.388° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001cbe. Read Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 1:38 PM UTC.