Reviewed by USGSTonga20y ago
M5.2 earthquake 73 km SE of Neiafu, Tonga
Tuesday, August 1, 2006, 10:19:40 UTC · 19.180°S, 173.568°W
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 73 km SE of Neiafu, Tonga on Tuesday, August 1, 2006, 10:19:40 UTC, at a depth of 31.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on August 1, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 32 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
951 tons of TNT
That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
68 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
32 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on August 31, 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 1,189 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 · 152 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.0TongaJanuary 4, 1903 · 176 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.02006 Tonga EarthquakeMay 3, 2006 · 126 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8159 km W of Pangai, TongaDecember 14, 1950 · 249 km W of this epicenter
- 7.8111 km SSE of Pangai, TongaJune 26, 1913 · 169 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5110 km E of ‘Ohonua, TongaSeptember 8, 1948 · 230 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4103 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaFebruary 27, 1921 · 64 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.385 km ESE of Neiafu, TongaJanuary 2, 1907 · 30 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1919M8.1
Tonga Islands
30 Apr 1919 · 144 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1865M8.0
Tonga Islands
18 Nov 1865 · 36 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2006M7.9
Tonga Islands
3 May 2006 · 126 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1903M8.0
Tonga Islands
4 Jan 1903 · 176 km away
- 1948M7.9
Tonga Islands
8 Sep 1948 · 207 km away
tsunami
- 1902M7.8
Tonga Islands
9 Feb 1902 · 102 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.