Magnitude 5.3 earthquake strikes near Nuku'alofa, Kolofo'ou, Tongatapu, Tonga

An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 occurred only 13 minutes ago 125 km southeast of Nuku'alofa, Tonga, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10. km beneath the epicenter near Nuku'alofa, Kolofo'ou, Tongatapu, Tonga, late at night on Monday, January 26th, 2026, at 11:52 pm local time. 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 5.3 earthquake as well.
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 Ha'atu'a (pop. 490) located 89 km from the epicenter, 'Ohonua (pop. 1,500) 92 km away, Vaini (pop. 3,300) 118 km away, Popua (pop. 2,300) 122 km away, Ha'ateiho (pop. 2,600) 123 km away, Haveluloto (pop. 3,500) 124 km away, Tofoa-Koloua (pop. 3,500) 125 km away, and Nuku'alofa (pop. 22,400) 125 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: Jan 26, 2026 11:52 pm (GMT +13) local time (26 Jan 2026 10:52 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 10.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 22.06°S / 174.52°W (Tonga)
Primary data source: GFZ
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/292981/Magnitude-53-earthquake-strikes-near-Nuku-alofa-Kolofo-ou-Tongatapu-Tonga.html