Magnitude 6 Earthquake Strikes Fiji Islands; BMKG Confirms No Tsunami Risk for Indonesia
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck the southern Fiji Islands today. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) confirmed that the earthquake poses no tsunami risk to Indonesian territory.
Acting Director of Earthquakes and Tsunamis at BMKG, Rahmat Triyono, said the Fiji Islands earthquake occurred at a depth of approximately 653 kilometres. The earthquake was caused by the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Australian Plate.
“This earthquake had an oblique thrust-fault mechanism,” Rahmat Triyono said in a statement on Sunday (22/2/2026).
Rahmat said the Fiji Islands earthquake does not have the potential to trigger a tsunami in Indonesia. He urged Indonesian communities in coastal areas to remain calm and to regularly monitor updates from BMKG.
“Based on BMKG’s analysis, the earthquake does not have the potential to cause a tsunami in Indonesian territory. Therefore, coastal communities across Indonesia are urged to remain calm. To date, there have been no reports of structural damage as a result of the earthquake,” he said.
According to Xinhua, the earthquake occurred at 07:43:24 GMT, as recorded by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The quake was at a depth of 630.4 kilometres.
The epicentre was initially determined to be at coordinates 21.71 degrees South latitude and 179.71 degrees East longitude.
Meanwhile, according to The Watchers, citing USGS records, the magnitude 6 earthquake did not trigger a tsunami warning. The epicentre was located 416 km (259 miles) south of Levuka (population 8,360) and 423 km (263 miles) south-southeast of Suva (population 77,300), Fiji.
The USGS issued a Green alert for casualties and economic losses from the shaking. The likelihood of casualties and damage is low.
Overall, residents in the region live in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, although some buildings are resistant to tremors. The most vulnerable building types are informal structures (metal, wood, corrugated iron, etc.) and mixed construction.