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Papua New Guinea

M5.4 Earthquake near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-12-21 23:07:28 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.

Map

M5.4 Earthquake near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-12-21 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.4 Earthquake near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-12-21 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On December 21, 2025 at 23:07 UTC, a magnitude M5.4 earthquake occurred near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea). With a focal depth of about 10 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

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

Details

ID
19229f81fc998e8bf82c31cdaf62b67be8ea16b3
Magnitude
M5.4
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2025-12-21 23:07:28 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
East New Britain
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-5.56000, 151.75000
Temperature
32.8°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 10 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 10 km
Shallow
10 km
10 km — shallower than the regional average (82.3 km)
Regional average: 82.3 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

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Kokopo147.0 kmNE26'273
Port Moresby668.3 kmSW283'733

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Bamus
    Distance: 70 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'248 m ·Last eruption: 1886 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Ulawun
    Distance: 73 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'334 m ·Last eruption: 2025 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Hargy
    Distance: 76 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'148 m ·Last eruption: 950 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Sulu Range
    Distance: 90 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 610 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Lolobau
    Distance: 97 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 878 m ·Last eruption: 1912 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Witori
    Distance: 137 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 724 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·Papua New Guinea

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours0
First 24 hours1
First 72 hours1
Strongest subsequent eventM5.1
M4.92025-12-22 14:00:23 UTC72.3 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.12025-12-29 11:40:02 UTC82.4 km115 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea M5.12025-12-29 11:40:02 UTC98.9 kmEvent of magnitude 5.1, near of Port Moresby (Monde) M5.02025-12-29 11:40:09 UTC63.4 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.12025-12-29 11:40:09 UTC63.2 kmNEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G. M4.82026-01-03 22:25:36 UTC89.9 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.02026-01-03 22:25:37 UTC105.0 km214 km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea M4.82026-01-04 01:23:33 UTC44.7 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.12026-01-04 01:23:35 UTC42.2 kmNEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G. M4.52026-01-11 02:54:45 UTC15.5 kmPomio District

East New Britain

Context for this earthquake

27 Sep 2025 – 27 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 33 Catalogue entries

Of 32 other entries for this area and period, 2 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#7
Earlier events M≥4209
Earlier events M≥565
Compared since2025-01-01

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M6.92025-04-04 20:04:38 UTC86.0 km181 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea M6.52025-04-04 20:04:39 UTC71.7 km194 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea M5.82025-06-23 03:17:13 UTC131.7 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.72025-12-21 05:25:23 UTC27.5 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.52025-04-12 03:47:24 UTC126.4 kmNew Ireland

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.

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