EARTHQUAKEM4.6

M4.6 earthquake in the Fiji region

Map: the earthquake in the Fiji region, with plate boundaries

First reported as magnitude 5.0, the earthquake has since been revised to 4.6 by the US Geological Survey. Early estimates come within minutes from the first seismic stations; the reviewed figure takes in many more.

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck in the Fiji region on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 00:32 UTC, at a depth of 556 km (346 mi), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Quakes this deep are usually felt widely but rarely cause damage. The epicenter was about 316 km (197 mi) northwest of Nukualofa.

MagnitudeM4.6
Depth556 km (346 mi)
Time (UTC)Nov 4 00:32
Location19.27°S 177.50°W
Nearest townNukualofa · 316 km
Energy120 tons TNT
Tsunami flagNo
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Why here?

This earthquake struck about 103 km (64 mi) from the boundary between the Australian and Tonga plates. Most earthquakes happen along plate boundaries like this one, where the pieces of Earth’s outer shell collide, pull apart or grind past each other. Stress builds up over years until the rock suddenly slips. At 556 km down, it most likely broke inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle beneath its neighbor, in what geologists call a subduction zone.

The red lines on the map are plate boundaries.

How strong was it?

Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step releases about 32 times more energy. This magnitude 4.6 released roughly the energy of 120 tons of TNT. That is about 7.9 times the energy of a magnitude 4.0, a quake people nearby feel but that rarely causes damage. The strongest earthquake ever recorded, magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960, released about 22,000,000 times more than this one.

Earthquake history here

Before this earthquake, USGS had recorded 232 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger within 300 km (186 mi) since 1900. The strongest:

Official details, updates and the shaking map: USGS event page.

See every earthquake on November 4, 2026 or earthquakes by day.

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