M5.5 earthquake 81 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 81 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Jun 14, 1983, 7:07 PM GMT-11 (06:07 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
- 5.5 (Ms, surface-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1983-06-15 06:07:54 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.232° S, 173.631° 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 11 stations |
| 5.69 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.7 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION HARVARD EVENT-FILE NAME B061583A DATA USED: GDSN L.P. BODY WAVES: 20S, 45C, T=45 CENTROID LOCATION: ORIGIN TIME 6: 8: 0.5 0.4 LAT 15.07S 0.05;LON 173.46W 0.05 DEP 53.8 5.8;HALF-DURATION 2.7 MOMENT TENSOR; SCALE 10**24 D-CM MRR=-0.39 0.11; MTT=0.95 0.17 MFF=-0.56 0.16; MRT=-3.89 0.25 MRF=1.26 0.15; MTF=0.85 0.14 PRINCIPAL AXES: 1.(T) VAL=4.23;PLG=40;AZM=183 2.(N) 0.05; 15; 286 3.(P) -4.28; 45; 32 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:M0=4.3*10**24 NP1:STRIKE=206;DIP=16;SLIP=-170 NP2:Strike=107;Dip=87;Slip=-75
From the USGS event page for usp0001w40. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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 2.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.863 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 15811 days ago · 33 km deep · 58 km away
- 5.170 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 15808 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.345 km NNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 15802 days ago · 196 km deep · 45 km away
- 5.2115 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 15800 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001w40 (also filed as gcmtb061583a, gcmt19830615060755, iscgem574118). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 10:46 AM UTC.