M5.1 earthquake 165 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 165 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Fri, Nov 8, 1985, 10:37 PM GMT+13 (09:37 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
- 5.1 (mb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-11-08 09:37:55 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 22.801° S, 174.669° 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: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.572 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14910 days ago · 44 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.9129 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 14902 days ago · 33 km deep · 64 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002mj9. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:04 AM UTC.