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Papua New Guinea · West New Britain

M5.0 Earthquake near West New Britain (Papua New Guinea)

UTC time: 2026-06-27 11:58:07 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.

Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
10.0 km
Source
EMSC

West New Britain · West New Britain

Country overview

Map

M5.0 Earthquake near West New Britain (Papua New Guinea) · 2026-06-27 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.0 Earthquake near West New Britain (Papua New Guinea) · 2026-06-27 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.0 earthquake was recorded near West New Britain (Papua New Guinea) on June 27, 2026 at 11:58 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The event was recorded by EMSC.

Details

ID
fbe89a62ab45705a9971513d580453021354a99c
Magnitude
M5.0
Depth
10.0 km
UTC time
2026-06-27 11:58:07 UTC
Local time
—
Country
Papua New Guinea
State
West New Britain
City
West New Britain
Source
emsc
Coordinates
-6.27100, 148.75500
Temperature
27.1°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 (80.5 km)
Regional average: 80.5 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 South Bismarck Plate.
Near the boundary South Bismarck ↔ Solomon Sea · about 103 km away

Nearby population centers

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

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Kimbe172.6 kmNE18'847
Port Moresby397.9 kmSW283'733

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Langila Activity reported
    Distance: 91 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'330 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Ritter Island
    Distance: 110 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 75 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Sakar
    Distance: 121 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 947 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Umboi
    Distance: 122 km ·Complex ·Elevation: 1'335 m ·Papua New Guinea
  • Krummel-Garbuna-Welcker
    Distance: 170 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 564 m ·Last eruption: 2008 ·Papua New Guinea
  • Garua Harbour
    Distance: 181 km ·Volcanic field ·Elevation: 565 m ·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

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#21
Earlier events M≥478
Earlier events M≥528
Compared since2025-01-08

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

Strongest earlier events

M5.72025-06-19 16:37:40 UTC110.7 kmPapua New Guinea Region M5.52026-01-05 00:42:04 UTC143.9 kmPapua New Guinea Region M5.52025-06-19 16:37:42 UTC99.8 kmEASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G. M5.32026-04-17 21:46:19 UTC87.3 kmNew Britain Region, Papua New Guinea M5.32025-11-26 00:07:25 UTC70.1 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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