Back to map
Papua New Guinea · Sandaun

M4.5 Earthquake near Vanimo District, Sandaun (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2026-10-10 09:42:59 UTC Local time: —

Map

About this earthquake

A magnitude M4.5 earthquake was recorded near Vanimo District, Sandaun (Papua New Guinea) on October 10, 2026 at 09:42 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude are clearly felt; minor damage to vulnerable buildings is possible.

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

Details

ID
78da7090e0e2862144b2da37380b9775f94dec1c
Magnitude
M4.5
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2026-10-10 09:42:59 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
State
Sandaun
City
Vanimo District
County
Vanimo District
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-3.08000, 141.43000
Temperature
24.8°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 10 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 10 km
Shallow
10 km
10 km — shallower than the regional average (80.7 km)
Regional average: 80.7 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Tectonic context

Located on the Woodlark Plate.
Near the boundary Caroline ↔ Woodlark · about 89 km away

Volcanoes nearby

  • Kadovar
    Distance: 355 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 365 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Blup Blup
    Distance: 356 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 402 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bam
    Distance: 381 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 685 m ·Last eruption: 1960 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Manam
    Distance: 415 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'807 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Vanimo AirportPapua New Guinea · VAI · AYVN
    45.3 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

Sandaun

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 50 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.

Share