Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Tonga on Monday, 17 October 1983 at 13:25 (GMT)

Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Tonga on Monday, 17 October 1983 at 13:25 (GMT)

Strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 30 km depth

Date & time: 17 Oct 1983 13:25:21 UTC
Magnitude: 6.3
Depth: 30.4 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 20.794°S / 173.758°W (Tonga)
Nearest volcano: Feinga Seamount (163 km / 101 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
125 km (78 mi) SSE of Pangai (pop: 1,740) --> See nearby quakes!
137 km (85 mi) ENE of ‘Ohonua (Ohonua) (pop: 1,240) --> See nearby quakes!
141 km (88 mi) ENE of Kolonga (pop: 1,100) --> See nearby quakes!
155 km (96 mi) ENE of Nuku'alofa (pop: 22,400) --> See nearby quakes!
155 km (96 mi) ENE of Nuku‘alofa (pop: 22,400) --> See nearby quakes!
240 km (149 mi) S of Neiafu (pop: 4,320) --> See nearby quakes!
446 km (277 mi) WSW of Alofi (Niue) (pop: 624) --> See nearby quakes!
449 km (279 mi) WSW of Hakupu (Niue) (pop: 221) --> See nearby quakes!
459 km (285 mi) WSW of Mutalau (Niue) (pop: 133) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 1.8 x 1014 joules (49.4 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 42502 tons of TNT or 2.7 atomic bombs!) More info
Show interactive Map
[smaller] [bigger]
If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!
Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!

Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 6.330 kmTongaUSGS
Note: for quakes of 2012 and earlier, our database often contains only records from USGS.

User reports for this quake

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it be the first to report it!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
to top

Aftershocks of the 6.3 quake Tonga 17 October 1983 13:25 GMT

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (7 quakes):
  • 03 Feb 1984 23:34 UTC
    | M 4.9 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    64 km (40 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 22 Jan 1984 13:51 UTC
    | M 5.5 |
    50.9 km (31.6 mi) depth
    |
    80 km (50 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 28 Dec 1983 11:21 UTC
    | M 5.3 |
    49.6 km (30.8 mi) depth
    |
    22 km (14 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 04 Dec 1983 19:30 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    18 km (11 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 03 Dec 1983 03:22 UTC
    | M 5.2 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    42 km (26 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 02 Dec 1983 14:50 UTC
    | M 4.7 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    46 km (29 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 20 Oct 1983 02:05 UTC
    | M 5.3 |
    69.7 km (43.3 mi) depth
    |
    24 km (15 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details

to top

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Tonga on Monday, 17 October 1983 at 13:25 (GMT)
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Why is there advertising on this site?

Support us - Help us upgrade our server!

We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.
Our server is reaching its limits and we need financing to increase capacity in order to deal with huge activity peaks when quakes occur. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every penny counts and every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features and in upgrading our software, please make a donation (PayPal or Online cc payment).

Planned features:
  • Weather reports
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Design upgrades
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards
  • Additional seismic data sources
  • Improved content in English
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you! With best regards from the VolcanoDiscovery team.
Copyrights: VolcanoDiscovery and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most texts and images, in particular photographs, on this website are protected by copyright. Further reproduction and use of without authorization is usually not consented. If you are not sure or need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.