M3.8 earthquake 146 km W of Hihifo, Tonga
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 146 km W of Hihifo, Tonga on Fri, Sep 15, 2006, 12:54 PM GMT-12 (00:54 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 154 km W of Hihifo, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 3.8 (mb, body-wave), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2006-09-16 00:54:29 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.883° S, 175.161° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
no people dead or missing; no people injured; no buildings damaged or destroyed
From the USGS event page for usp000et5f. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 181°, poorly surrounded by stations
- Stations used
- 5
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.1142 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 7323 days ago · 35 km deep · 46 km away
- 4.465 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 7314 days ago · 133 km deep · 83 km away
- 3.9214 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 7313 days ago · 366 km deep · 69 km away
- 4.3171 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 7311 days ago · 35 km deep · 80 km away
- 3.5128 km WSW of Hihifo, Tonga · 7299 days ago · 193 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.2161 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 7291 days ago · 241 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.2144 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 7274 days ago · 298 km deep · 39 km away
- 5.0154 km W of Hihifo, Tonga · 7273 days ago · 35 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.9177 km WNW of Hihifo, Tonga · 7273 days ago · 35 km deep · 39 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000et5f. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 1:18 PM UTC.