M4.7 earthquake 38 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 38 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga on Thu, Oct 15, 1981, 11:20 PM GMT+13 (10:20 UTC), 58 km (36 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-10-15 10:20:01 UTC
- Depth
- 58.0 km (36.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.493° S, 175.357° 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 1.7 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 usp0001gfn. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 9:19 PM UTC.