M4.8 earthquake 240 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 240 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sat, Mar 18, 2006, 6:11 PM GMT+13 (05:11 UTC), 23 km (14 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 197 km SW of Vaini, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.8 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2006-03-18 05:11:13 UTC
- Depth
- 23.3 km (14.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 23.196° S, 176.147° 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 usp000ecd2. 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
- FROM_LOCATION
- Station coverage gap
- 124°
- Stations used
- 42
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 8 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.4172 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7504 days ago · 35 km deep · 92 km away
- 4.9281 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 7498 days ago · 128 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.9164 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7494 days ago · 27 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.8173 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7494 days ago · 25 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.9148 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7490 days ago · 38 km deep · 100 km away
- 4.8187 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7488 days ago · 44 km deep · 98 km away
- 4.7163 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7481 days ago · 10 km deep · 98 km away
- 5.2197 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 7451 days ago · 110 km deep · 88 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ecd2. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 5:36 AM UTC.