LIGHT EARTHQUAKE
276 km WNW of Houma, Tonga
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 276 km WNW of Houma, Tonga on 20 Sept 2026, 15:33 UTC. The hypocentre was 507.1 km below the surface — deep by seismological convention. 16 other earthquakes above our reporting threshold have been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.
- Depth
- 507.1 km
- Latitude
- 20.31°S
- Time
- 15:33 UTC
- Magnitude
- M4.4
deep
177.79°W longitude
20 Sept 2026
mb
EPICENTRE
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.
507.1 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
16 earthquakes above our reporting threshold within 250 km of this one, the largest a magnitude 4.9.
OTHER RECENT EARTHQUAKES
20 Sept 2026, 13:54 UTC · 354.9 km deep
20 Sept 2026, 13:35 UTC · 7 km deep
20 Sept 2026, 12:45 UTC · 116 km deep
20 Sept 2026, 12:24 UTC · 33.9 km deep