Reviewed by USGSTonga20y ago
M4.6 earthquake 82 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga
Friday, June 23, 2006, 16:29:51 UTC · 18.964°S, 173.273°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 82 km ESE of Neiafu, Tonga on Friday, June 23, 2006, 16:29:51 UTC, at a depth of 20.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on June 22, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
44 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Tonga and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
20 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on June 29, 2006. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,174 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11919 Tonga EarthquakeApril 30, 1919 · 113 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 215 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.02006 Tonga EarthquakeMay 3, 2006 · 163 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 285 km W of this epicenter
- 7.8111 km SSE of Pangai, TongaJune 26, 1913 · 199 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6199 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaApril 2, 1977 · 281 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5110 km E of ‘Ohonua, TongaSeptember 8, 1948 · 259 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4103 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaFebruary 27, 1921 · 26 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 105 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 64 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2006M7.9
Tonga Islands
3 May 2006 · 163 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1977M7.6
Apia
2 Apr 1977 · 281 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 215 km away
- 1948M7.9
Tonga Islands
8 Sep 1948 · 239 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.