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Papua New Guinea · East New Britain

M5.1 Earthquake near Marambu, East New Britain (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2026-09-24 18:00:48 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
First published: Content updated:

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

Map

M5.1 Earthquake near Marambu, East New Britain (Papua New Guinea) · 2026-09-24 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.1 Earthquake near Marambu, East New Britain (Papua New Guinea) · 2026-09-24 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On September 24, 2026 at 18:00 UTC, a magnitude M5.1 earthquake occurred near Marambu, East New Britain (Papua New Guinea). At around 94 km, the focal depth places this among intermediate-depth events. Events of this size can cause damage near the epicenter.

The event was recorded by USGS. Papua New Guinea: 3 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M5.8.

Details

ID
c49abd9542f3ca7aba74fe3d1ac5dd8677dca028
Magnitude
M5.1
Depth
94.0 km
UTC time
2026-09-24 18:00:48 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
State
East New Britain
City
Marambu
County
Pomio District
Village
Marambu
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-4.63560, 152.27670
Temperature
25.8°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 94 km (Intermediate) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 94 km
Intermediate
94 km
94 km — close to the regional average (82.3 km)
Regional average: 82.3 km
Why depth matters

Intermediate-depth quakes are felt across a wider area but usually cause less surface damage.

Depth classes per USGS

Tectonic context

Located on the South Bismarck Plate.
Near the boundary North Bismarck ↔ South Bismarck · about 63 km away

Nearby population centers

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

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Kokopo16.7 kmNW26'273
Port Moresby799.4 kmSW283'733

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Rabaul
    Distance: 44 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 688 m ·Last eruption: 2014 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Tavui
    Distance: 59 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 200 m ·Last eruption: -4946 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Ulawun
    Distance: 115 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'334 m ·Last eruption: 2025 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Lolobau
    Distance: 127 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 878 m ·Last eruption: 1912 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Bamus
    Distance: 132 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'248 m ·Last eruption: 1886 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Hargy
    Distance: 152 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'148 m ·Last eruption: 950 ·Papua New Guinea

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Tokua AirportPapua New Guinea · RAB · AYTK
    34.8 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-26

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Comparison of seismic sources

5 sources currently report magnitudes from M5.1 to M5.2.

Measurements can differ because agencies use different networks and calculation methods. Values may be revised.

SourceMagnitudeDepthPosition difference
RESIFM5.110.0 km59.0 km
EMSCM5.194.0 km0.0 km
GFZM5.2114.0 km20.1 km
ISCM5.193.0 km0.1 km
USGSM5.194.0 km0.0 km

East New Britain

Context for this earthquake

27 Sep 2025 – 26 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 33 Catalogue entries

Of 32 other entries for this area and period, 11 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#26
Earlier events M≥4164
Earlier events M≥573
Compared since2025-01-01

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

Strongest earlier events

M6.22025-04-12 03:47:13 UTC101.8 km M6.12025-04-12 03:47:09 UTC92.5 km105 km ESE of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea M6.02026-09-05 14:12:07 UTC139.6 kmNew Ireland M5.92025-08-07 16:33:59 UTC65.5 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.92025-08-07 16:33:59 UTC66.0 kmNEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.

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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