A significant Magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in the Solomon Sea 152 kilometer from Arawa, Papua New Guinea in the morning of Tuesday November 7th, 2023.
Felt the earthquake? Share this article: 
Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Solomon Sea, 79 kilometers (49 mi) off the coast of Papua New Guinea, 152 kilometer south-southeast of Arawa in Bougainville. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 38 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Nov 7, 2023 08:31 (Bougainville Time) - Nov 6, 2023 21:31 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 152 km SSE of Arawa, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Coordinates 7°28'56"S 156°7'28"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.3 Detected by 14 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.083 . |
| Depth: | 38 km (24 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Papua New Guinea . Located 152 kilometer (94 mi) south-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Arawa (Bougainville, Papua New Guinea) is the nearest significant population center.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 152 km (94 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Arawa Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. |
Risk of aftershocks?
We monitor for foreshocks or aftershocks that have a magnitude of 2.5+ and occur within 100km (62 mi) of the epicenter of this earthquake. So far no such earthquakes have been detected.
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).Earthquakes like this happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since July 9th, 2023, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 7 km (4 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on January 22nd, 2017.
In total, 113 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every month.
Low tsunami risk
Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 38 km (24 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 09/12/23 02:08 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000l98e
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20231106_0000225
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
Share this article:
