M5.4 earthquake 56 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 56 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga on Wed, Nov 6, 1985, 11:16 AM GMT-11 (22:16 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
- 5.4 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-11-06 22:16:15 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 16.184° S, 173.327° 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 2.4 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.678 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14929 days ago · 50 km deep · 27 km away
- 6.062 km SW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14906 days ago · 165 km deep · 95 km away
- 4.344 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 14895 days ago · 148 km deep · 95 km away
- 5.8113 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 14875 days ago · 16 km deep · 89 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002mh1 (also filed as gcmtb110685c, gcmt19851106221615, iscgem510302). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC.