Back to map
Papua New Guinea · West New Britain

M4.5 Earthquake near West New Britain (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2026-01-27 08:31:33 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
570.0 km
Source
GFZ

West New Britain · West New Britain

Country overview

Map

About this earthquake

On January 27, 2026 at 08:31 UTC, a magnitude M4.5 earthquake occurred near West New Britain (Papua New Guinea). The deep hypocenter at about 570 km dampens the shaking felt at the surface. Earthquakes of this magnitude are clearly felt; minor damage to vulnerable buildings is possible.

The event was recorded by GFZ.

Details

ID
10f955fe0525e37c3ddf14f9179ecf88497996bc
Magnitude
M4.5
Depth
570.0 km
UTC time
2026-01-27 08:31:33 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
State
West New Britain
City
West New Britain
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-4.54000, 149.59000
Temperature
28.9°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 570 km (Deep) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 570 km
Deep
570 km
570 km — deeper than the regional average (80.5 km)
Regional average: 80.5 km
Why depth matters

Deep quakes are felt over very large areas but rarely cause surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Dakataua
    Distance: 80 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 408 m ·Last eruption: 1895 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bola
    Distance: 83 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'116 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Garua Harbour
    Distance: 100 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 565 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker
    Distance: 109 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 564 m ·Last eruption: 2008 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Lolo
    Distance: 145 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 796 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Witori
    Distance: 154 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 724 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·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

Open history map
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.

Share