Magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes off Solomon Islands, no damage reported
Politics
Sunday, November 8, 2026
- Updated Nov 8, 2026 23:25
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck offshore near Lata in the Solomon Islands' Santa Cruz Islands at 03:34 UTC on Monday, at a depth of 17 kilometres, and the US Geological Survey's PAGER system issued a green alert, expecting little impact.
Why it matters: The Santa Cruz Islands sit on the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates and have produced destructive quakes before, including a magnitude 8.0 in 2013, but this event was offshore, drew the lowest PAGER alert level, and brought no reports of damage, casualties or a tsunami.
Data as of US Geological Survey data as revised to November 9, 2026, 04:08 UTC, read via ZenitMap's event page; Yonhap News Agency report of November 9, 2026 (in Korean), read in full via the estate browser route, carried the Korea Meteorological Administration's initial reading of the same event (03:35 UTC, depth 25 kilometres, epicentre 10.90 degrees south, 165.62 degrees east). No damage or casualty reports in either source. Developing item.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck at 03:34 UTC on Monday about 30 kilometres southwest of Lata, in the Solomon Islands’ Santa Cruz Islands, at a depth of 17 kilometres, according to US Geological Survey data revised in the first hour after the event. The survey’s PAGER system issued a green alert, its lowest level, expecting little impact, and it had recorded no aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or more nearby.
No damage or casualties were reported in the first coverage, and no tsunami warning accompanied the event. Yonhap, carrying the Korea Meteorological Administration’s initial reading, placed the same quake 541 kilometres north-northwest of Luganville, Vanuatu, at an initially reported depth of 25 kilometres.
Sources
- Earthquake Solomon Islands M6.4, November 9, 2026 (USGS event data) - ZenitMap, reporting US Geological Survey data - 2026-11-09
- Magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurs in sea north-northwest of Luganville, Vanuatu (in Korean) - Yonhap News Agency, reporting Korea Meteorological Administration data - 2026-11-09