Tonga earthquakes

M5.9 earthquake 90 km S of Hihifo, Tonga

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 90 km S of Hihifo, Tonga on Sun, Sep 15, 1985, 6:31 AM GMT-11 (17:31 UTC), 81 km (50 mi) below the surface.

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.9 (mw), moderate
Local time
UTC
1985-09-15 17:31:00 UTC
Depth
81.1 km (50.4 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
16.771° S, 173.880° 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 2.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.694 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14943 days ago · 295 km deep · 65 km away
  2. 5.1109 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14938 days ago · 33 km deep · 48 km away
  3. 4.195 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14934 days ago · 235 km deep · 58 km away
  4. 4.9148 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14932 days ago · 140 km deep · 85 km away
  5. 4.6113 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 14930 days ago · 70 km deep · 35 km away
  6. 5.456 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14930 days ago · 33 km deep · 88 km away

Before

  1. 4.8148 km NNW of Neiafu, Tonga · 14994 days ago · 33 km deep · 94 km away
  2. 4.9110 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14998 days ago · 93 km deep · 36 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002jt5 (also filed as gcmtb091585e, gcmt19850915173101, iscgem515838). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:22 PM UTC.