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Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 130 km southeast of Nuku\'alofa, Tongatapu, on Friday, 27 September 1985 at 10:10 (GMT)
Strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake at 33 km depth
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Date & time: 27 Sep 1985 10:10:18 UTC
Magnitude: 6.1Depth: 33.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 22.171°S / 174.606°W
(
South Pacific Ocean,
Tonga)
Nearest volcano:
Unnamed 21.38°S/175.65°W (139 km / 86 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:100 km (62 mi) SSE of ‘Ohonua (Ohonua) (pop: 1,240) -->
See nearby quakes!125 km (78 mi) SSE of Kolonga (pop: 1,100) -->
See nearby quakes!130 km (81 mi) SSE of Nuku'alofa (pop: 22,400) -->
See nearby quakes!130 km (81 mi) SSE of Nuku‘alofa (pop: 22,400) -->
See nearby quakes!263 km (164 mi) S of Pangai (pop: 1,740) -->
See nearby quakes!397 km (247 mi) S of Neiafu (pop: 4,320) -->
See nearby quakes!Primary data source:
USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 8.9 x 10
13 joules (24.8 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 21301 tons of TNT or 1.3 atomic bombs!)
More info[show map]
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
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| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| M 6.1 | 33 km | Tonga region | USGS |
Note: for quakes of 2012 and earlier, our database often contains only records from USGS.
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Aftershocks
More info
Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake ruptured along a surface of approx. 126 km
2 (=49 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 19 km (12 mi).
Aftershocks typically occur during the weeks and months following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone.
The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock (check on the
map below to verify).
16 Feb 1986 09:29 UTC
| M 4.9 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 54 km (33 mi) distance
| USGS | Details26 Nov 1985 06:18 UTC
| M 5.5 | 43.6 km (27.1 mi) depth
| 50 km (31 mi) distance
| USGS | Details10 Oct 1985 15:11 UTC
| M 5.2 | 33 km (20.5 mi) depth
| 31 km (19 mi) distance
| USGS | Details
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