Tonga earthquakes

M5.9 earthquake 31 km W of Pangai, Tonga

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 31 km W of Pangai, Tonga on Fri, May 5, 2006, 7:16 PM GMT+13 (06:16 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.

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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: 5.9 (Mwb, body-wave moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Fri, May 5, 2006, 7:16 PM GMT+13
UTC: 2006-05-05 06:16:20 UTC
Depth: 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 19.833° S, 174.652° W
Region: Tonga
Strongest shaking: V, moderate shaking
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
5.9	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.86	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.9	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 usp000egas. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: V, moderate shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

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: Strike-slip
Nodal plane 1: Strike 99°, dip 75°, rake -9°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 192°, dip 82°, rake -165°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Station coverage gap: 41°
Stations used: 213

Nearest places

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

Nuku‘alofa, TongaPopulation 22,400. Forecast156 kmNNE

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.9 and up: 85 in the 60 days after this one and 35 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 85.

Before

Earthquakes today Tonga earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000egas (also filed as gcmtc200605050616b, gcmt20060505061620, atlas20060505061620, iscgem8321554). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 12:09 PM UTC.