M5.8 Earthquake south of the Fiji Islands — July 15, 2026
2026-07-15 22:57:11 UTC (2 hours ago) · approx. 10:57 AM UTC-12 local
On July 15, 2026 at 22:57 UTC, a magnitude 5.8 deep-focus earthquake struck south of the Fiji Islands, at a depth of 340.3 km and coordinates -26.3660°, -178.6944°. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 55 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 518, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 8 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 6.1 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
The epicenter is located in Fiji, a region characterized by the Fiji Fracture Zone at the junction of the Pacific and Australian plates, with deep-focus seismicity from the subducted slab. View all earthquakes in Fiji.
Learn more: Magnitude scale · Aftershock sequences
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Earthquake Details
-178.6944°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.8 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands?
The magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck south of the Fiji Islands on July 15, 2026 at 22:57 UTC had a depth of 340.3 km. For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -26.3660°, -178.6944°, which is south of the Fiji Islands. View all earthquakes in Fiji.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.8 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Location
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000t0u6). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2026, July 15, 2026). M5.8 Earthquake south of the Fiji Islands — July 15, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000t0u6/