M4.6 earthquake 21 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 21 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Oct 27, 1985, 12:22 PM GMT+13 (23:22 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.5 72 km S 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
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-10-26 23:22:16 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.524° S, 174.995° 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 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.572 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14911 days ago · 44 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.735 km NE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14907 days ago · 33 km deep · 54 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002m5p. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:34 PM UTC.