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Papua New Guinea

M4.8 Earthquake near Solomon Islands (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-12-16 15:49:30 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
M4.8
Depth
86.0 km
Source
GFZ

Autonomous Region of Bougainville

Country overview

Map

About this earthquake

On December 16, 2025 at 15:49 UTC, a magnitude M4.8 earthquake occurred near Solomon Islands (Papua New Guinea). The earthquake originated at an intermediate depth of about 86 km. Earthquakes of this magnitude are clearly felt; minor damage to vulnerable buildings is possible.

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

Details

ID
5531f846aae1338b29d34f4ea8ea0b3d8e49893c
Magnitude
M4.8
Depth
86.0 km
UTC time
2025-12-16 15:49:30 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
Autonomous Region of Bougainville
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-7.00000, 155.47000
Temperature
27.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 86 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 86 km
Intermediate
86 km
86 km — close to 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

Volcanoes nearby

  • Loloru
    Distance: 56 km ·Compound ·Elevation: 1'887 m ·Last eruption: -1050 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Takuan Group
    Distance: 64 km ·Compound ·Elevation: 2'210 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bagana
    Distance: 101 km ·Lava cone ·Elevation: 1'855 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Billy Mitchell
    Distance: 105 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 1'544 m ·Last eruption: 1580 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Balbi
    Distance: 131 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'715 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Simbo
    Distance: 184 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 335 m ·Last eruption: 1910 ·Solomon Islands

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Ballalae AirportSolomon Islands · BAS · AGGE
    46.0 kmStraight-line distance
  • Mono AirportSolomon Islands · MNY · AGGO
    47.5 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

Papua New Guinea

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 307 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.

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