M4.6 earthquake 98 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 98 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga on Wed, Mar 23, 2016, 5:45 AM GMT+13 (16:45 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 78 km N of Kolonga, 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
- 2016-03-22 16:45:46 UTC
- Depth
- 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 20.687° S, 174.169° W
- Region
- Tonga
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 10.0 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.10
- Depth from
- Operator assigned
- Station coverage gap
- 96°
- Stations used
- 39
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.863 km SSW of Pangai, Tonga · 3833 days ago · 10 km deep · 50 km away
- 4.978 km N of Kolonga, Tonga · 3825 days ago · 10 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.488 km S of Pangai, Tonga · 3813 days ago · 125 km deep · 11 km away
- 4.4119 km E of ‘Ohonua, Tonga · 3804 days ago · 10 km deep · 97 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTonga earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20005c9q. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC.