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Papua New Guinea

M6.6 Earthquake near 26 km WSW of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-10-07 11:05:18 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

M6.6 Earthquake near 26 km WSW of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-10-07 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M6.6 Earthquake near 26 km WSW of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-10-07 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On October 7, 2025 at 11:05 UTC, a magnitude M6.6 earthquake occurred near 26 km WSW of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea). At around 99 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Earthquakes of this magnitude can cause significant damage in populated areas.

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

Details

ID
4995613bcddb08f5dbf1ae4836bd7546ac33b541
Magnitude
M6.6
Depth
99.4 km
UTC time
2025-10-07 11:05:18 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
Morobe
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-6.78370, 146.76700
Temperature
5.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 99.4 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 99.4 km
Intermediate
99.4 km
99.4 km — deeper than the regional average (80.7 km)
Regional average: 80.7 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
Lae26.2 kmE76'255
Port Moresby302.5 kmS283'733

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Long Island
    Distance: 168 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'263 m ·Last eruption: 1993 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Umboi
    Distance: 182 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'335 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Ritter Island
    Distance: 205 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 75 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Sakar
    Distance: 211 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 947 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Hankow Reef
    Distance: 211 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -5 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Langila Activity reported
    Distance: 230 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'330 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Nadzab Tomodachi International AirportPapua New Guinea · LAE · AYNZ
    24.4 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 hours1
First 24 hours1
First 72 hours1
Strongest subsequent eventM6.7
M6.72025-10-07 11:05:19 UTC10.7 kmEASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G. M4.52025-10-10 23:39:54 UTC126.8 kmNEW GUINEA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA M4.72025-10-14 20:38:44 UTC17.6 kmEASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G. M5.32025-10-23 04:06:55 UTC186.4 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.12025-10-23 04:06:58 UTC152.1 kmNew Britain region M5.12025-10-23 04:06:58 UTC158.5 kmNew Britain region M5.22025-10-23 04:07:02 UTC168.2 km49 km ESE of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea M5.22025-10-23 04:07:02 UTC171.6 kmNEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.

Morobe

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 40 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#4
Earlier events M≥498
Earlier events M≥530
Compared since2025-01-06

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

Strongest earlier events

M6.72025-10-07 11:05:17 UTC5.5 kmGabensis M6.72025-10-07 11:05:17 UTC10.0 kmEastern New Guinea region M6.72025-10-07 11:05:15 UTC20.6 kmPapua New Guinea [Land] M6.62025-10-07 11:05:17 UTC6.1 kmPapua New Guinea Region M6.62025-10-07 11:05:17 UTC0.0 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.

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