Tonga earthquakes

M4.9 earthquake 78 km S of Pangai, Tonga

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 78 km S of Pangai, Tonga on Wed, Mar 15, 2006, 9:08 PM GMT+13 (08:08 UTC), 15 km (9 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M8.0 2006 Tonga Earthquake. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 4.9 (Mwc, centroid moment), light
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Wed, Mar 15, 2006, 9:08 PM GMT+13
UTC: 2006-03-15 08:08:37 UTC
Depth: 15.0 km (9.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 20.522° S, 174.450° 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
4.9	Mwc, centroid moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
4.9	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 usp000ec6v. 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 231°, dip 38°, rake 110°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 27°, dip 55°, rake 75°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Station coverage gap: 138°
Stations used: 25

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast104 kmNE

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 115 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 115.

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ec6v (also filed as gcmtc200603150808a, gcmt20060315080837). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 11:59 AM UTC.