M 5.4 Earthquake 245 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga
Areazine synthesizes this USGS earthquake report directly from USGS's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
A magnitude 5.4 mb earthquake struck 245 km south of ‘Ohonua, Tonga at a depth of 10 km.
What this USGS earthquake report tells you, and what most readers miss
This notice was issued by USGS on August 4, 2026 and geographically references Tonga. Its severity classification of "medium" signals how the issuing agency weighs the risk of harm if no action is taken - "critical" and "high" tier alerts typically carry direct consumer actions, while "medium" and "low" tend toward informational guidance or monitoring advisories. The category it belongs to - Earthquakes - determines the monitoring protocol behind it, which shapes what follow-up action (checking for structural damage, watching for aftershocks, reviewing local building codes) is relevant and which agency holds authority over the assessment.
Most readers skim a notice like this, check whether they are personally affected, and move on. The more useful lens is to verify its scope, source, and timestamp, then compare related notices without assuming that one record proves a broader trend.
Areazine pairs this record with the original agency URL so you can check the primary source before acting. Its related labels are earthquake, seismic, usgs, Tonga.
What Happened
A magnitude 5.4 mb earthquake occurred at 12:18 UTC on July 7, 2026 (Unix time 1783513139673), located 245 km S of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. The event was recorded at coordinates latitude -23.5549, longitude -174.9716, with a depth of 10 km. This depth classifies as shallow (less than 20 km).
Location Details
The earthquake was centered 245 km south of ‘Ohonua, Tonga. Coordinates place the epicenter at -23.5549 latitude, -174.9716 longitude. The shallow depth of 10 km means the event occurred relatively close to the surface.
Impact Assessment
No felt reports were recorded. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami field value: 0). No alert level was assigned.
What You Should Know
This was classified as a moderate earthquake. Shallow events of this magnitude can be felt over a wide area but details on shaking intensity are not available in the data.
Source
Data from USGS: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000taww
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
Related Earthquakes
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Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (964 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (medium) notices issued closest in time to August 4, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.