M6.1 earthquake - 273 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 273 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on 3 Feb 1939, 20:13 UTC at a depth of 15 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Nuku‘alofa, about 300 km away in Tongatapu, Tonga.