LATA, Solomon Islands — A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck near Lata in the Solomon Islands at 03:35 UTC on Monday, November 9 (2:35 p.m. local time in the Solomons), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). No tsunami warning was issued, and no casualties or major damage had been reported in the sources checked as this report was prepared.

Source: USGS via Earthquake Today, Nov 9 2026

The USGS located the epicentre 27 kilometres southwest of Lata, the capital of Temotu Province, at a shallow depth of 25 kilometres, at coordinates 10.896 degrees south and 165.618 degrees east — offshore near the Santa Cruz Islands, southeast of the main Solomon Islands chain. The USGS event reference is us7000tx16.

6.4Magnitude (USGS)
25 kmDepth — shallow (USGS)
27 km SW of LataEpicentre, Santa Cruz Islands
03:35 UTC, Nov 9Origin time (2:35 p.m. local)

Malaysia's meteorological department, MetMalaysia, gave a slightly different early reading — magnitude 6.3 at a depth of 45 kilometres, about 20 kilometres west of Lata — and confirmed there was no tsunami threat to Malaysia. Early figures from different agencies often differ before seismologists complete their reviews; the USGS figures above are its reviewed solution.

The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert for the earthquake, meaning little impact was expected, according to USGS data summaries. No tsunami warning, watch or advisory was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center or the USGS for this event, and USGS data showed no aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or more within 150 kilometres in the first hours.

No damage reports yet

Temotu is one of the Solomon Islands' most remote provinces. In the sources checked — USGS, MetMalaysia and earthquake monitoring reports — there were no reports of casualties or major damage as of publication. That is an absence of reports from a remote area, not yet a confirmed all-clear; assessments can take time.

A seismically active corner of the Pacific

The Santa Cruz Islands sit within the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Australian and Pacific plates meet in subduction and transform faulting — a setting that makes the Solomon Islands susceptible to large earthquakes. The quake's significance index was put at 630 on a scale running to 1,000, based on magnitude, felt reports and estimated impact, according to monitoring summaries.

What is solid

  • A magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred at 03:35 UTC on Nov 9, 27 km southwest of Lata, at 25 km depth, per the USGS.
  • No tsunami warning was issued by the PTWC or USGS, and MetMalaysia said there was no tsunami threat to Malaysia.
  • USGS PAGER issued a green alert, expecting little impact.

What is only claimed

  • MetMalaysia's early reading differed slightly (magnitude 6.3, depth 45 km, about 20 km west of Lata); agencies' initial figures can be revised.
  • There were no casualty or damage reports in the sources checked — from a remote province, that does not yet confirm there was no local damage.

What happens next: local authorities in Temotu Province and the Solomon Islands disaster management agencies are the expected source of any damage assessment, and seismologists may still revise the earthquake's parameters. Any verified casualty or damage report would be carried as a follow-up.