M5.1 earthquake 79 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 79 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Wed, Oct 9, 1985, 4:46 PM GMT+13 (03:46 UTC), 66 km (41 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 81 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, 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
- 1985-10-09 03:46:55 UTC
- Depth
- 65.6 km (40.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.082° S, 174.233° 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
- FROM_LOCATION
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.281 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14958 days ago · 66 km deep · 5 km away
- 4.621 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14940 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
- 4.735 km NE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14906 days ago · 33 km deep · 49 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002km6. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:53 AM UTC.