M4.7 earthquake 206 km SW of Vaini, Tonga
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 206 km SW of Vaini, Tonga on Fri, Jan 20, 2006, 10:37 PM GMT+13 (09:37 UTC), 117 km (72 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.2 174 km SSW 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
- 4.7 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2006-01-20 09:37:52 UTC
- Depth
- 116.5 km (72.4 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 22.465° S, 176.632° 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 usp000e8hb. 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.
- Station coverage gap
- 147°
- Stations used
- 20
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.7 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.1181 km SW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 7554 days ago · 248 km deep · 41 km away
- 4.4258 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga · 7547 days ago · 100 km deep · 77 km away
- 4.8200 km SSW of Vaini, Tonga · 7536 days ago · 62 km deep · 49 km away
- 5.2174 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7523 days ago · 10 km deep · 91 km away
- 4.4166 km SW of Haveluloto, Tonga · 7518 days ago · 127 km deep · 47 km away
- 4.8240 km SSW of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 7505 days ago · 23 km deep · 95 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000e8hb. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:47 AM UTC.