Significant 5.5 quake hits near Mata-Utu, Hahake, Uvea, Wallis & Futuna

A shallow magnitude 5.5 earthquake was reported in the evening near Mata-Utu, Hahake, Uvea, Wallis & Futuna.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake hit on Friday, December 26th, 2025, at 8:36 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, which listed it as a magnitude 5.5 earthquake as well. A third agency, France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), reported the same quake at magnitude 5.0.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Kolopopo (pop. 170) located 120 km from the epicenter, Halalo (pop. 560) 121 km away, Utufua (pop. 620) 122 km away, Mua (pop. 3,000) 122 km away, Falaleu (pop. 630) 127 km away, Mata-Utu (pop. 1,200) 129 km away, Liku (pop. 610) 131 km away, and Alele (pop. 630) 132 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Dec 26, 2025 08:36 pm (GMT +12) local time (26 Dec 2025 08:36 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.5
Depth: 10.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 14.31°S / 176.73°W (Wallis & Futuna)
Primary data source: GFZ
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