M5.2 earthquake 62 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 62 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga on Sun, Sep 3, 2006, 11:14 PM GMT+13 (10:14 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 49 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2006-09-03 10:14:50 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 21.850° S, 175.204° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.23 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.2 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
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 usp000esd1. 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.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 199°, dip 30°, rake 82°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 28°, dip 60°, rake 95°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 111°
- Stations used
- 53
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.349 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7329 days ago · 10 km deep · 78 km away
- 4.838 km ESE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7328 days ago · 35 km deep · 80 km away
- 4.7146 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga · 7324 days ago · 18 km deep · 92 km away
- 4.881 km SW of Vaini, Tonga · 7315 days ago · 35 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.321 km WSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7278 days ago · 130 km deep · 49 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000esd1 (also filed as gcmtc200609031014a, gcmt20060903101450, iscgem8778143). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC.