M4.8 earthquake 59 km E of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 59 km E of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, Sep 25, 1985, 5:16 PM GMT-11 (04:16 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 94 km NNE 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-09-26 04:16:21 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.958° S, 173.240° 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
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.588 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14971 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
- 3.8131 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14971 days ago · 33 km deep · 77 km away
- 4.7131 km E of Hihifo, Tonga · 14968 days ago · 33 km deep · 72 km away
- 4.767 km ENE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14968 days ago · 33 km deep · 31 km away
- 4.444 km NE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14952 days ago · 53 km deep · 37 km away
- 5.294 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14944 days ago · 33 km deep · 83 km away
- 5.456 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14929 days ago · 33 km deep · 27 km away
- 4.678 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14929 days ago · 50 km deep · 25 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002k4m. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:00 AM UTC.