M5.1 earthquake 75 km W of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 75 km W of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Oct 22, 1985, 6:21 AM GMT-11 (17:21 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 62 km SW 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
- 5.1 (ms), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-10-22 17:21:11 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.875° S, 174.501° 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 2.1 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.694 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14943 days ago · 295 km deep · 74 km away
- 4.195 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14934 days ago · 235 km deep · 81 km away
- 6.062 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14906 days ago · 165 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.344 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14895 days ago · 148 km deep · 37 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002m11. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:36 AM UTC.