Tonga earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake 61 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 61 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Sat, Dec 9, 2006, 8:24 AM GMT+13 (19:24 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.4 85 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.

Nuku‘alofa forecastMore in Tonga

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
5.1 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2006-12-08 19:24:56 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
20.292° S, 174.055° 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 usp000eztv. 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
61°
Stations used
62

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.052 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 7240 days ago · 35 km deep · 11 km away
  2. 4.554 km SSW of Pangai, Tonga · 7233 days ago · 35 km deep · 50 km away
  3. 4.065 km ENE of Kolonga, Tonga · 7231 days ago · 10 km deep · 83 km away
  4. 5.485 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7229 days ago · 10 km deep · 79 km away
  5. 4.785 km S of Pangai, Tonga · 7224 days ago · 15 km deep · 49 km away
  6. 4.4Tonga · 7221 days ago · 35 km deep · 49 km away
  7. 4.6101 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 7221 days ago · 45 km deep · 43 km away
  8. 4.573 km NE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7217 days ago · 10 km deep · 79 km away
  9. 5.177 km ENE of Kolonga, Tonga · 7211 days ago · 33 km deep · 69 km away
  10. 4.4108 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 7200 days ago · 9 km deep · 50 km away
  11. 5.114 km WSW of Pangai, Tonga · 7192 days ago · 44 km deep · 65 km away
  12. 4.464 km ENE of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7188 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away

Before

  1. 5.09 km SE of Pangai, Tonga · 7254 days ago · 10 km deep · 52 km away
  2. 5.129 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga · 7261 days ago · 70 km deep · 33 km away
  3. 4.430 km ENE of Pangai, Tonga · 7262 days ago · 57 km deep · 61 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000eztv. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC.