295 km WNW of Houma, Tonga

8 days ago

USGS

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 295 km WNW of Houma, Tonga on 09 Sept 2026, 18:19 UTC. The hypocentre was 499.4 km below the surface — deep by seismological convention.

Depth: 499.4 km
Latitude: 20.65°S
Time: 18:19 UTC
Magnitude: M4.6

EPICENTRE

View the official report↗

MAGNITUDE 4.6

Noticeable shaking of indoor objects. Damage is unlikely.

The scale is logarithmic: this released about 250 times the energy of a magnitude 3.0, roughly the energy of 120 tonnes of TNT.

499.4 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.