M4.6 earthquake 271 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 271 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sat, Jan 18, 1986, 3:15 AM GMT+13 (14:15 UTC), 126 km (78 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 south of the Fiji Islands. 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
- 1986-01-17 14:15:40 UTC
- Depth
- 125.5 km (78.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 23.559° S, 176.059° 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 1.6 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002q5m. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:01 AM UTC.