M4.6 earthquake 161 km W of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 161 km W of Pangai, Tonga on Wed, Jan 16, 2008, 2:34 AM GMT+13 (13:34 UTC), 144 km (89 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.1 81 km NNW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-01-15 13:34:42 UTC
- Depth
- 143.6 km (89.2 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 19.776° S, 175.896° 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 usp000fwsb. 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
- FROM_LOCATION
- Station coverage gap
- 140°
- Stations used
- 12
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9229 km W of Pangai, Tonga · 6830 days ago · 10 km deep · 73 km away
- 5.181 km NNW of Nuku‘alofa, Tonga · 6827 days ago · 35 km deep · 86 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fwsb. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 10:29 PM UTC.