Papua New Guinea · West New Britain

M4.6 Earthquake near Lambe, West New Britain (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2026-05-17 18:13:43 UTC Local time: —
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Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

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About this earthquake

On May 17, 2026 at 18:13 UTC, a magnitude M4.6 earthquake occurred near Lambe, West New Britain (Papua New Guinea). The deep hypocenter at about 576 km dampens the shaking felt at the surface. 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
8fcfa9b5464ba5fcd1a8a2458f2c9bc30e78ab0e
Magnitude
M4.6
Depth
576.0 km
UTC time
2026-05-17 18:13:43 UTC
Local time
—
City
Village
Lambe
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-4.61000, 149.51000
Temperature
26.6°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 576 km (Deep) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 576 km
Deep
576 km
576 km — deeper than the regional average (80.5 km)
Regional average: 80.5 km
Why depth matters

Deep quakes are felt over very large areas but rarely cause surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Distance: 81 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 408 m ·Last eruption: 1895 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 83 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'116 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 99 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 565 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 106 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 564 m ·Last eruption: 2008 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 146 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 796 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Distance: 155 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 724 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·Papua New Guinea

West New Britain

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 32 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

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Country statistics · Papua New Guinea

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

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