Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake Near the Loyalty Islands

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred in the Loyalty Islands region, on January 20, 2024, at 16:20:19 local time (05:20:19 UTC) and a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi). The exact location was -23.75° LAT, 170.09° LON. The epicenter was located 405 km (251 mi) east of Nouméa, New Caledonia (pop. 93,000) and 289 km (179 mi) east of Vao, New Caledonia (pop. 1,800).

Picture 1: Location of the magnitude 5.2 earthquake in the Loyalty Islands.

The earthquake occurred in the region for which Quantectum announced the increased seismic hazard alert on January 16, 2024. Due to the influence of a D-wave, which causes a strongly increased shear traction field, stronger earthquake-triggering was expected in the region, as well as in Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga. The post is available here. 

Picture 2: Picture from the post (published on January 16) forecasting increased earthquake-triggering in the Loyalty Islands region.

There have been no reports of damage, injuries, or casualties as a result of the earthquake so far. Also, no tsunami warning was issued.

* The exact information about the magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the earthquake might be revised within the next few hours as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other data providers issue their reports.

** The information provided is a product of Quantectum's own system, please tag Quantectum when sharing it. For more detailed information, contact us by email.