Small magnitude 3.0 quake hits 10 km west of Sivakasi, India in the evening

A shallow magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported in the evening near Sivakasi, Virudhunagar, State of Tamil Nadu, India.
According to India's National Center for Seismology (NCS), the quake hit on Thursday, January 29th, 2026, 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. Magnitude and other quake parameters can still change in the coming hours as the agency continues to process seismic data.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 3.0 as well. A third agency, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, reported the same quake at magnitude 3.0.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Sithurajapuram (pop. 16,900) located 9 km from the epicenter, Sivakasi (pop. 234,700) 10 km away, Viswanatham (pop. 25,600) 10 km away, Srivilliputhur (pop. 75,400) 12 km away, Tiruttangal (pop. 55,400) 14 km away, and Rajapalayam (pop. 130,400) 17 km away. In Virudunagar (pop. 73,300, 32 km away), Kovilpatti (pop. 95,100, 35 km away), and Madurai (pop. 1,465,600, 70 km away), the quake was probably not felt.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 29, 2026 09:06 pm (Kolkata time) local time (29 Jan 2026 15:36 GMT)
Magnitude: 3.0
Depth: 10.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 9.44°N / 77.71°E (Virudhunagar, State of Tamil Nadu, India)
Primary data source: NCS
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