Back to map
Papua New Guinea

M6.5 Earthquake near 42 km NNE of Goroka, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-12-22 10:31:28 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

M6.5 Earthquake near 42 km NNE of Goroka, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-12-22 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M6.5 Earthquake near 42 km NNE of Goroka, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-12-22 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M6.5 earthquake was recorded near 42 km NNE of Goroka, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) on December 22, 2025 at 10:31 UTC. At around 110 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Events of this size are considered strong and can be dangerous in inhabited regions.

The data is provided by USGS and cross-checked across seismological networks.

Details

ID
23f4f566dd5c19e51b518a80a7eae5e8ab2dacac
Magnitude
M6.5
Depth
110.2 km
UTC time
2025-12-22 10:31:28 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
Madang
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-5.71990, 145.49550
Temperature
24.2°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 110.2 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 110.2 km
Intermediate
110.2 km
110.2 km — deeper than the regional average (80.5 km)
Regional average: 80.5 km
Why depth matters

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

Depth classes per USGS

Nearby population centers

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

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Goroka42.3 kmS18'503
Port Moresby455.9 kmSE283'733

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Karkar
    Distance: 131 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'839 m ·Last eruption: 1979 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Hankow Reef
    Distance: 164 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -5 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Long Island
    Distance: 184 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'263 m ·Last eruption: 1993 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Manam
    Distance: 189 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'807 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bam
    Distance: 246 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 685 m ·Last eruption: 1960 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Kadovar
    Distance: 255 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 365 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Papua New Guinea

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Goroka AirportPapua New Guinea · GKA · AYGA
    41.8 kmStraight-line distance
  • Madang AirportPapua New Guinea · MAG · AYMD
    65.6 kmStraight-line distance
  • Chimbu AirportPapua New Guinea · CMU · AYCH
    67.2 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

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

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 250 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours0
First 24 hours4
First 72 hours4
Strongest subsequent eventM6.0
M5.22025-12-23 09:54:51 UTC205.7 kmEASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G. M5.02025-12-23 09:54:52 UTC213.0 kmMadang M5.22025-12-23 09:54:53 UTC212.6 km119 km NNW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea M5.22025-12-23 09:54:53 UTC206.7 kmPapua New Guinea Region M4.42025-12-26 15:29:52 UTC122.8 kmNEAR N COAST OF NEW GUINEA, PNG. M5.02026-01-03 01:26:40 UTC224.7 km33 km SSW of Mendi, Papua New Guinea M5.02026-01-03 01:26:40 UTC213.9 kmNew Guinea, Papua New Guinea M5.22026-01-05 00:42:04 UTC237.1 km100 km NNW of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea M5.52026-01-05 00:42:04 UTC236.4 kmPapua New Guinea Region M4.52026-01-13 06:33:36 UTC244.2 kmMorobe M4.52026-01-13 06:33:36 UTC249.6 kmMorobe M5.02026-01-13 06:43:06 UTC204.8 kmBogia District

Madang

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 44 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

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 250 km.

Magnitude rank#8
Earlier events M≥4107
Earlier events M≥535
Compared since2025-01-03

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

Strongest earlier events

M6.72025-10-07 11:05:19 UTC177.7 kmEASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G. M6.72025-10-07 11:05:17 UTC182.1 kmGabensis M6.72025-10-07 11:05:17 UTC180.8 kmEastern New Guinea region M6.72025-10-07 11:05:15 UTC185.3 kmPapua New Guinea [Land] M6.62025-10-07 11:05:18 UTC183.7 km26 km WSW of Lae, Papua New Guinea

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