LIGHT EARTHQUAKE
265 km WNW of Houma, Tonga
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 265 km WNW of Houma, Tonga on 27 Aug 2026, 23:02 UTC. The hypocentre was 519 km below the surface — deep by seismological convention. 14 other earthquakes above our reporting threshold have been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.
- Depth
- 519 km
- Latitude
- 20.41°S
- Time
- 23:02 UTC
- Magnitude
- M4.9
deep
177.72°W longitude
27 Aug 2026
mb
EPICENTRE
MAGNITUDE 4.9
Noticeable shaking of indoor objects. Damage is unlikely.
The scale is logarithmic: this released about 710 times the energy of a magnitude 3.0, roughly the energy of 338 tonnes of TNT.
519 KM DEEP
Deep earthquakes rarely cause damage. The energy dissipates over hundreds of kilometres before reaching the surface, though it can still be felt far from the epicentre.
NEARBY IN THE PAST 30 DAYS
14 earthquakes above our reporting threshold within 250 km of this one, the largest a magnitude 4.9.
OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES
18 Sept 2026, 02:12 UTC · 36.3 km deep
18 Sept 2026, 01:29 UTC · 106 km deep
18 Sept 2026, 01:07 UTC · 53.9 km deep
17 Sept 2026, 22:11 UTC · 82.7 km deep