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Papua New Guinea · Autonomous Region of Bougainville

M4.5 Earthquake near Buka District, Autonomous Region of Bougainville (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2026-08-09 18:11:30 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

Magnitude
M4.5
Depth
104.5 km
Source
USGS

Autonomous Region of Bougainville · Buka District

Country overview

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About this earthquake

On August 9, 2026 at 18:11 UTC, a magnitude M4.5 earthquake occurred near Buka District, Autonomous Region of Bougainville (Papua New Guinea). At around 104 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Earthquakes of this magnitude are clearly felt; minor damage to vulnerable buildings is possible.

The event was recorded by USGS. Papua New Guinea: 3 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M5.8.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 104.5 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 104.5 km
Intermediate
104.5 km
104.5 km — deeper than the regional average (82.3 km)
Regional average: 82.3 km
Why depth matters

Intermediate-depth quakes are felt across a wider area but usually cause less surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Tectonic context

Located on the North Bismarck Plate.
Near the boundary Pacific ↔ North Bismarck · about 8 km away

Volcanoes nearby

  • Balbi
    Distance: 58 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'715 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bagana
    Distance: 86 km ·Lava cone ·Elevation: 1'855 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Billy Mitchell
    Distance: 87 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 1'544 m ·Last eruption: 1580 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Takuan Group
    Distance: 142 km ·Compound ·Elevation: 2'210 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Loloru
    Distance: 147 km ·Compound ·Elevation: 1'887 m ·Last eruption: -1050 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Rabaul
    Distance: 309 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 688 m ·Last eruption: 2014 ·Papua New Guinea

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Buka AirportPapua New Guinea · BUA · AYBK
    48.7 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-27

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Papua New Guinea

Context for this earthquake

27 Sep 2025 – 27 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 305 Catalogue entries

Of 304 other entries for this area and period, 212 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · Papua New Guinea

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Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · Papua New Guinea

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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