Magnitude 6.3 earthquake — south of the Kermadec Islands

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the remote South Pacific region south of the Kermadec Islands on 5 August 2026, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The quake occurred at 07:43:27 UTC, with an epicentre recorded at approximately 33.8°S, 179.5°E. It was a deep-focus event, originating around 226 km below the Earth's surface — a depth that typically limits the intensity of shaking felt at ground level, even for earthquakes of significant magnitude. The USGS assigned the event a green alert level, its lowest classification, indicating minimal likelihood of casualties or significant damage.

The Kermadec Islands are an uninhabited volcanic archipelago administered by New Zealand, lying in open ocean roughly midway between New Zealand's North Island and Tonga, along the seismically active Kermadec Trench where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Australian Plate. Owing to the quake's considerable depth and the sparsely populated surrounding ocean, the USGS reported zero population exposure to hazardous shaking, and its automated ground-failure assessments for both landslide and liquefaction risk returned green (negligible) ratings. No tsunami warning was issued. Only 14 "did you feel it" reports had been submitted to the USGS at the time of recording, with a maximum reported intensity of around 3.1 on the Community Determined Intensity scale — consistent with weak, barely perceptible shaking, likely felt only by ships or on the nearest inhabited landmasses far from the epicentre.