Shallow M6.0 earthquake hits southeast Indian Ridge
A shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 struck the southeast Indian Ridge at 01:53 UTC on January 1, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Epicenter of M6.0 earthquake in southeast Indian Ridge on January 1, 2026. Credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located 1 985 km (1 235 miles) ENE of Port-aux-Français, French Southern Territories and 2 082 km (1 294 miles) WSW of Busselton, Australia.
There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
This is the second M6+ earthquake in 24 hours, following M6.0 near the east coast of Honshu, Japan, at 14:26 UTC on December 31.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.0 earthquake southeast Indian Ridge – USGS – January 1, 2026
2 M6.0 earthquake southeast Indian Ridge – EMSC – January 1, 2026
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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