Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Tonga Region on Monday, 15 December 1980 at 08:12 (GMT)

Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Tonga Region on Monday, 15 December 1980 at 08:12 (GMT)

Strong magnitude 6.3 earthquake at 33 km depth

Date & time: 15 Dec 1980 08:12:45 UTC
Magnitude: 6.3
Profondeur: 33.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 17.593°S / 172.3°W (Tonga)
Volcan le plus près: Toku (209 km / 130 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
213 km NE de Neiafu (pop: 4,320) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
328 km NE de Pangai (pop: 1,740) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
400 km SSO de Tāfuna (Tualauta, Samoa américaines) (pop: 11,000) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
406 km SSO de Pago Pago (Ma'Oputasi, Samoa américaines) (pop: 11,500) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
419 km S de Mulifanua (Samoa) (pop: 4,510) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
422 km S de Apia (Samoa) (pop: 40,400) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
489 km NE de Kolonga (pop: 1,100) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
498 km NE de Nuku'alofa (pop: 22,400) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
498 km NE de Nuku‘alofa (pop: 22,400) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
500 km NE de ‘Ohonua (Ohonua) (pop: 1,240) --> Voir les séismes à proximité!
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
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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.
MagnitudeProfondeurLocationSource
M 6.333 kmTonga regionUSGS
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!
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Aftershocks of the 6.3 quake Tonga Region 15 December 1980 08:12 GMT

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (2 quakes):
  • 04 Apr 1981 08:44 UTC
    | M 4.6 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    60 km (37 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 30 Dec 1980 18:53 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    10 km (6 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details

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Earlier earthquakes in the same area

Strong mag. 6.3 earthquake - Tonga Region on Monday, 15 December 1980 at 08:12 (GMT)
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