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Papua New Guinea

M5.0 Earthquake near 33 km SSW of Mendi, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2026-01-03 01:26:40 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.

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M5.0 Earthquake near 33 km SSW of Mendi, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2026-01-03 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.0 Earthquake near 33 km SSW of Mendi, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2026-01-03 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.0 earthquake was recorded near 33 km SSW of Mendi, Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) on January 3, 2026 at 01:26 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

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
a894e67d9c51cfd4ad9ce4edfde521b755d5741b
Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2026-01-03 01:26:40 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
Southern Highlands
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-6.44140, 143.59770
Temperature
27.6°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

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Mendi33.3 kmN26'252
Merauke419.7 kmSW116'864

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Manam
    Distance: 307 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'807 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Karkar
    Distance: 330 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'839 m ·Last eruption: 1979 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Kadovar
    Distance: 334 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 365 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bam
    Distance: 342 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 685 m ·Last eruption: 1960 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Blup Blup
    Distance: 345 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 402 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Hankow Reef
    Distance: 386 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -5 m ·Papua New Guinea

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Mendi AirportPapua New Guinea · MDU · AYMN
    33.3 kmStraight-line distance
  • Moro AirportPapua New Guinea · MXH · AYMR
    40.7 kmStraight-line distance
  • Wapenamanda AirportPapua New Guinea · WBM · AYWD
    95.4 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

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

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#1
Earlier events M≥47
Earlier events M≥50
Compared since2025-01-26

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

Strongest earlier events

M4.92025-07-17 11:25:54 UTC137.1 kmNew Guinea, Papua New Guinea M4.92025-07-17 11:25:53 UTC121.8 kmNEW GUINEA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA M4.92025-07-17 11:25:52 UTC111.1 km41 km SW of Tari, Papua New Guinea M4.82025-07-25 15:46:30 UTC134.8 kmNEW GUINEA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA M4.82025-05-29 11:36:59 UTC49.5 kmNEW GUINEA, 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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