southeast of the Loyalty Islands

80 days ago

USGS

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands on 20 Aug 2026, 13:14 UTC. The hypocentre was 120.9 km below the surface — intermediate by seismological convention.

Depth: 120.9 km
Latitude: 22.42°S
Time: 13:14 UTC
Magnitude: M4.4

EPICENTRE

View the official report↗

MAGNITUDE 4.4

Noticeable shaking of indoor objects. Damage is unlikely.

The scale is logarithmic: this released about 130 times the energy of a magnitude 3.0, roughly the energy of 60 tonnes of TNT.

120.9 KM DEEP

At this depth the energy spreads before it reaches the surface. Shaking is usually weaker than a shallow earthquake of the same size, but it can be felt across a wider area.