On Saturday Morning a Shallow M5.7 Earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 14th, 2025. Last updated December 13th, 2025.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean in the morning of Saturday November 15th, 2025. Such earthquakes in regions like this usually have a minimal impact on people and the economy.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 5 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 15, 2025 07:09 (Wallis Time) - Nov 14, 2025 19:09 Universal Time.
Location:	235 km SSE of Mata-Utu, Uvea, Wallis and Futuna. Coordinates 15°20'42"S 175°42'17"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.7 Detected by 31 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.056 .
Depth:	5 km (3 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

6

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Not many people felt this earthquake

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 430 have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 430 people are expected to be exposed to this level.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 430 people were exposed to shaking in Tonga , with level V (moderate shaking, very light damage) as the highest recorded.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
0	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
430	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

Mata-Utu in Uvea, Wallis and Futuna is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 235 kilometer (146 mi) south-southeast of Mata-Utu.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
235 km (146 mi) NNW from epicenter	Mata-Utu Uvea, Wallis and Futuna.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is V.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

2 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 20 km (13 mi) south of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 13 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 4.9

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.7	Nov 15, 2025 07:09 (Wallis Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.9	13 hrs later Nov 15, 2025 19:52 (Wallis Time)	20 km (13 mi) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.5	22 hrs later Nov 16, 2025 05:01 (Wallis Time)	77 km (48 mi) SSW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since July 24th, 2025, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 48 km (30 mi) further north. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on May 10th, 2023.

In total, 37 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.7 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.7. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 5 km (3 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 13/12/25 22:38 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.