Papua New Guinea

M5.2 Earthquake near 135 km N of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-07-18 14:33:07 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

M5.2 Earthquake near 135 km N of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-07-18 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.2 Earthquake near 135 km N of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-07-18 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On July 18, 2025 at 14:33 UTC, a magnitude M5.2 earthquake occurred near 135 km N of Lae, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea). The earthquake originated at an intermediate depth of about 181 km. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The data is provided by USGS and cross-checked across seismological networks. Papua New Guinea: 2 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M4.9.

Details

ID
626fb641d03ea78c77f86e5650c75e8cee22cd33
Magnitude
M5.2
Depth
181.3 km
UTC time
2025-07-18 14:33:07 UTC
Local time
—
City
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-5.49970, 147.05900
Temperature
29.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 181.3 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 181.3 km
Intermediate
181.3 km
181.3 km — deeper than the regional average (82.7 km)
Regional average: 82.7 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
Lae136.2 kmS76'255
Port Moresby442.4 kmS283'733

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Distance: 21 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'263 m ·Last eruption: 1993 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 78 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -5 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 93 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'335 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 114 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 947 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 117 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 75 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Langila Activity reported
    Distance: 151 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'330 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·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 eventM5.9

Madang

Context for this earthquake

04 Oct 2025 – 04 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 150 km.

Magnitude rank#5
Earlier events M≥453
Earlier events M≥511
Compared since2025-01-12

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

Strongest earlier events

Historic earthquake map · Papua New Guinea

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

View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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