M5.1 earthquake 109 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 109 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga on Tue, Oct 29, 1985, 3:31 PM GMT-12 (03:31 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 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-10-30 03:31:03 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.806° S, 174.325° 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
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.195 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14934 days ago · 235 km deep · 25 km away
- 4.9148 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14931 days ago · 140 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.6113 km S of Hihifo, Tonga · 14930 days ago · 70 km deep · 76 km away
- 4.6160 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14925 days ago · 229 km deep · 91 km away
- 6.062 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14906 days ago · 165 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.344 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14895 days ago · 148 km deep · 87 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002m9u. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:50 AM UTC.