M4.8 earthquake Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in Tonga on Mon, May 6, 1985, 7:14 PM GMT-11 (06:14 UTC), 76 km (47 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 80 km SSW 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
- 4.8 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-05-07 06:14:34 UTC
- Depth
- 75.8 km (47.1 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 16.488° S, 173.899° 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
- CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.66 km NNE of Hihifo, Tonga · 15100 days ago · 33 km deep · 67 km away
- 5.180 km SSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 15078 days ago · 33 km deep · 21 km away
- 4.863 km ESE of Hihifo, Tonga · 15071 days ago · 33 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.650 km SSE of Hihifo, Tonga · 15060 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002ehc. Read Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC.