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Papua New Guinea

M6.6 Earthquake near Near North Coast of Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2025-05-20 15:06:02 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

M6.6 Earthquake near Near North Coast of Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-05-20 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M6.6 Earthquake near Near North Coast of Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea) · 2025-05-20 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

On May 20, 2025 at 15:06 UTC, a magnitude M6.6 earthquake occurred near Near North Coast of Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea). The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude can cause significant damage in populated areas.

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
eb91b26bef0d4ca666f2f307142ca6577c9e7575
Magnitude
M6.6
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2025-05-20 15:06:02 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
City
East Sepik
Source
gfz
Coordinates
-3.56000, 144.84000
Temperature
28.2°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 (82.7 km)
Regional average: 82.7 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
Wewak134.0 kmW18'230
Jayapura471.7 kmW410'852

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Bam
    Distance: 6 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 685 m ·Last eruption: 1960 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Blup Blup
    Distance: 27 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 402 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Kadovar
    Distance: 28 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 365 m ·Last eruption: 2023 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Manam
    Distance: 62 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'807 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Karkar
    Distance: 175 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 1'839 m ·Last eruption: 1979 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Hankow Reef
    Distance: 255 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: -5 m ·Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Context for this earthquake

04 Oct 2025 – 04 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 308 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 250 km.

Magnitude rank#1
Earlier events M≥424
Earlier events M≥55
Compared since2025-01-03

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

Strongest earlier events

M6.62025-05-20 15:05:59 UTC9.4 km111 km NE of Angoram, Papua New Guinea M6.42025-05-20 15:05:58 UTC33.3 kmNEAR N COAST OF NEW GUINEA, PNG. M5.12025-05-17 00:45:41 UTC70.3 kmNear North Coast of Papua New Guinea M5.12025-05-17 00:45:38 UTC56.8 kmNEAR N COAST OF NEW GUINEA, PNG. M5.12025-05-03 16:21:11 UTC142.9 kmNear North Coast of 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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