A shallow earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck the Santa Cruz Islands area of the Solomon Islands at about 03:35 UTC on Monday 9 November 2026, according to the volcano and earth-change news site The Watchers, which cited figures from the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
Both agencies put the magnitude at 6.4, and the quake was reported to have struck at a depth of around 17 kilometres, roughly 30 kilometres west-south-west of Lata. The Watchers said it estimated that about 12,000 people felt strong shaking, with a further 5,000 feeling moderate shaking and 4,000 light shaking.
The USGS issued a green alert for both fatalities and economic losses, which indicates a low likelihood of casualties and damage. The report noted, however, that many buildings in the region are vulnerable to shaking, particularly mud-wall and informal metal, timber or corrugated-metal structures. It did not report any damage, injuries or a tsunami threat.
The Solomon Islands lie on the western edge of the Pacific, a region with frequent seismic activity.
Reporting note: This account relies on a single outlet, The Watchers, which in turn cites USGS and EMSC data. The shaking figures are modelled estimates rather than confirmed counts, and no on-the-ground reports of damage were available at the time of writing. Details may be revised as agencies update their data.
Photo: Alex DeCiccio / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
