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Papua New Guinea

M4.6 Earthquake near New Britain region (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-12-22 18:03:24 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.

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M4.6 earthquake was recorded near New Britain region (Papua New Guinea) on December 22, 2025 at 18:03 UTC. With a focal depth of about 66 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Tremors of this size are distinctly felt and can occasionally cause light damage.

The event was recorded by ISC. Papua New Guinea: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 2 earthquakes, the strongest at M4.9.

Details

ID
0c6462559b7aa155a5d1bfc588cdb88e248bb9de
Magnitude
M4.6
Depth
66.0 km
UTC time
2025-12-22 18:03:24 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
West New Britain
Source
isc
Coordinates
-6.27200, 149.08900
Temperature
27.8°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 66 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 66 km
Shallow
66 km
66 km — close to the regional average (80.7 km)
Regional average: 80.7 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Langila Activity reported
    Distance: 111 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'330 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Ritter Island
    Distance: 136 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 75 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker
    Distance: 141 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 564 m ·Last eruption: 2008 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Sakar
    Distance: 147 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 947 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Umboi
    Distance: 152 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'335 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Garua Harbour
    Distance: 153 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 565 m ·Papua New Guinea

West New Britain

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 32 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

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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