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Papua New Guinea

M5.0 Earthquake near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-08-21 14:06:59 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

M5.0 Earthquake near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-08-21 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.0 Earthquake near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-08-21 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.0 earthquake was recorded near New Britain Region, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) on August 21, 2025 at 14:06 UTC. The earthquake originated at an intermediate depth of about 132 km. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The event was recorded by GFZ. Papua New Guinea: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 3 earthquakes, the strongest at M5.8.

Details

ID
3ec46fe9bd835c0f191c387ad85ed7422cdb8594
Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
132.0 km
UTC time
2025-08-21 14:06:59 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
West New Britain
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-5.04000, 151.34000
Temperature
28.5°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 132 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 132 km
Intermediate
132 km
132 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

Nearby population centers

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

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Kokopo128.8 kmNE26'273
Port Moresby675.9 kmSW283'733

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Ulawun
    Distance: 2 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'334 m ·Last eruption: 2025 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bamus
    Distance: 22 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'248 m ·Last eruption: 1886 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Lolobau
    Distance: 24 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 878 m ·Last eruption: 1912 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Hargy
    Distance: 42 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'148 m ·Last eruption: 950 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Sulu Range
    Distance: 68 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 610 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Lolo
    Distance: 103 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 796 m ·Papua New Guinea

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

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

First 6 hours1
First 24 hours1
First 72 hours1
Strongest subsequent eventM5.1
M5.02025-08-21 14:07:00 UTC7.3 km124 km SW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea M4.82025-08-24 18:19:22 UTC129.8 km36 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea M5.02025-08-27 01:31:08 UTC81.1 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.02025-08-27 01:31:08 UTC72.5 kmNEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G. M5.12025-08-28 04:31:38 UTC146.1 kmNEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.

West New Britain

Context for this earthquake

27 Sep 2025 – 27 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 31 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 150 km.

Magnitude rank#29
Earlier events M≥4157
Earlier events M≥545
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 UTC144.7 km181 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea M6.52025-04-04 20:04:39 UTC137.8 km194 km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea M5.82025-06-23 03:17:13 UTC129.0 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.72025-01-24 18:26:51 UTC138.5 km150 km S of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea M5.52025-01-21 11:15:29 UTC143.5 km83 km NW of Rabaul, 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.

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