QuakeScout
Magnitude5.1

Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia2h ago

M5.1 earthquake 90 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia

Sunday, September 27, 2026, 02:22:10 UTC · 21.286°S, 168.707°E

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 90 km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia on Sunday, September 27, 2026, 02:22:10 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 26, 2026.

Magnitude
5.1
Moderate · mb
Depth
10 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
—
No ShakeMap
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

674 tons of TNT

That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

17 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

10 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,949 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 147 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 207 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.7southeast of the Loyalty IslandsMay 19, 2023 · 299 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.7249 km E of Vao, New CaledoniaMay 16, 1995 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 246 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 211 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.5southeast of the Loyalty IslandsJanuary 4, 1998 · 254 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 42 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1875M8.1

    Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island

    28 Mar 1875 · 145 km away

    26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1901M7.9

    Loyalty Islands

    9 Aug 1901 · 155 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1920M8.1

    Loyalty Islands

    20 Sep 1920 · 147 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1878M7.5

    Tanna Island

    10 Jan 1878 · 255 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 2018M7.5

    Loyalty Islands

    5 Dec 2018 · 105 km away · intensity III

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 2010M7.3

    Vanuatu Islands

    25 Dec 2010 · 193 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages