A shallow magnitude 5.4 earthquake was reported in the early evening near La Roche, Maré, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia.According to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, the quake struck on Saturday, September 26th, 2026, at 6:22 pm local time and at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones because 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 the data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their reports.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage but was probably felt by many people as light vibrations in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in La Roche (pop. 550), located 108 km from the epicenter, and Tadine (pop. 7,500), 118 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update the magnitude and depth if they change and follow up if other significant news about the quake becomes 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: Sep 26, 2026 06:22 pm (GMT +11) local time (26 Sep 2026 07:22 GMT)Magnitude: 5.4Hypocenter depth: 10.00 kmEpicenter coordinates: 21.94°S / 168.94°E (Province Sud, New Caledonia)Primary data source: BMKG