M5.0 earthquake 123 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 123 km NW of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Jan 18, 1985, 12:46 PM GMT-11 (23:46 UTC), 188 km (117 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 107 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.0 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-01-18 23:46:58 UTC
- Depth
- 188.3 km (117.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 15.151° S, 174.599° 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 2.0 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.1107 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 15217 days ago · 260 km deep · 69 km away
- 5.6171 km SE of Mata-Utu, Wallis and Futuna · 15216 days ago · 33 km deep · 99 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002b5w. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:30 AM UTC.