M6.0 earthquake in Tonga on March 8, 2026

Strong M6.0 quake: March 8, 2026, 09:28 UTC, epicenter 7 km southwest of Hihifo. The rupture began 134 km below the surface. The focus was at intermediate depth, which softens the shaking at the surface compared with a shallow quake of the same size.

6.0magnitude
134 kmdepth
09:28time UTC
greenUSGS alert
Live earthquake map →

Key facts

8 people reported feeling it to USGS. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert, expecting little impact.

Nearest cities

  • Sunshine Coast (Australia)3,612 km
  • Central Coast (Australia)3,985 km
  • Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)4,284 km
  • Merauke (Indonesia)5,029 km
  • Jayapura (Indonesia)5,190 km

Did you feel an earthquake?

Report it to seismologists. These reports help work out quickly where the shaking was strongest. It takes a minute.

Report to USGS (Did You Feel It?)Report to EMSC (LastQuake)

Aftershocks

Since then USGS has recorded 73 quakes of magnitude 4.5 or more within 150 km, the strongest M6.3.

  • M6.3 · Mar 22, 15:30 UTC147 km
  • M6.2 · Mar 22, 06:15 UTC128 km
  • M6.1 · Apr 19, 17:34 UTC94 km
  • M5.9 · Mar 22, 22:26 UTC118 km
  • M5.7 · Mar 23, 06:02 UTC113 km
  • M5.6 · Jul 1, 21:13 UTC150 km
  • M5.6 · Mar 25, 10:11 UTC83 km
  • M5.6 · Mar 22, 16:00 UTC142 km

Regional history

Since 1976 there have been 160 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more within 300 km. The strongest was M8.1 (September 29, 2009).

  • M8.1 · September 29, 2009196 km
  • M7.7 · September 1, 1981141 km
  • M7.6 · May 10, 202379 km
  • M7.6 · April 2, 1977204 km
  • M7.4 · April 7, 199594 km

See also

Live earthquake mapAll earthquakes todayWeather in Sunshine CoastEvent details at USGS

Source: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (public domain). Seismologists may still revise the data. Data from May 22, 21:58 UTC.